The Chronicles of Life and Change
by Snoopy-4-President
Summary: Jack left New Mecca with Riddick, and things have been ok for them. Now, though, things start to change...how will they deal with...everything? kind of crappy summary, i know, but i'm working on it. Read to find out.
1. Default Chapter

**Don't own anything from the movie>>**

**Hey, this is an idea i've had for a while, and hopefully i'll turn out well. This first chapter is mostly what's been going on since the end of PB, but things will be getting more interesting soon, i promise. Hope you enjoy**

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THE PAST CAN BE A BITCH

Jack woke up to something beneath her head moving. She opened her eyes to tiny slits and tried to move back some, but something strong and warm tightened around her and stopped her. '_That would be Riddick...' _She thought to herself as the fogginess of sleep began to slip away.

"Goin' somewhere?" His deep gravely voice floated to her through the darkness.

"Wasn't planning on it," she mumbled, wishing she hadn't woken up because now she wasn't sure if she could get back so sleep.

That drew a small chuckle from him and she settled her head back on his shoulder and closed her eyes. She didn't remember falling asleep like this, but Riddick had probably just thrown an arm around her and then she's automatically moved closer.

They pretty much always shared a bed now, for no exact reason. They'd moved around quite a bit, but ever since the first move they'd always had one bedroom apartments. Jack certainly had no problem with it since she still had nightmares. Not so much from the hell planet anymore, since that had been years ago, but from other parts of her past. _'The past is a bitch_...' she thought as she tried to get comfortable again, thinking about how things had gone since they left New Mecca. The nightmares weren't the only reason they shared a room, though. Riddick could easily have told her to just get over it, but he never did. Other than the fact that he knew how the past could mess with you, he said it was comforting to have someone in bed, just sleeping. It was a trust thing for him.

"If someone is comfortable enough to sleep with you...just sleep...that shows a whole lot of trust. It's nice having someone around that trusts me." Those were pretty much his exact words.

The unspoken part of it was that he trusted her back. He trusted her enough to fall asleep with her around, and she was glad that their trust was mutual. He'd given her something he'd given almost nobody, something that was sacred to him. His trust.

He trusted Imam too, she knew, because when they left New Mecca he'd told the Holy Man where he planned to go, at first. That had been years ago now, and they'd long since left Nouvelle, and now lived on Catileen. She missed Imam sometimes, but was glad Riddick had taken her with him. She probably would've ended up running out on Imam, because he wasn't what she needed. As much as she loved him, she didn't need someone preaching at her all the time and picking at little things like swearing and whatnot.

Riddick had understood, and taken her along. He knew she would've run away and he couldn't have that. He knew what usually happened to kids on the streets, especially when she would've be able to hide that she was a girl anymore. Besides, he liked the kid well enough and she had proven extremely useful when he's found out she could hack pretty good.

"You planning on getting anymore sleep?" Riddick's low voice, sounding less groggy, pulled her from her thoughts.

"Uh...no, probably not"

"Alright then, I'll make breakfast."

"Good deal," she rolled off the bed when he dropped his arm from around her and grabbed a zip-up sweatshirt from the floor.

Riddick threw on a black beater with his sweat pants and walked out of the room to the kitchen.

Once Jack heard the clanking of pots as he dug something out of a cupboard, she sat back down on the bed and rested her elbows on her knees and head in hands, remembering the nightmare she'd had that night. She was surprised Riddick hadn't known about it, because he pretty much always seemed to know, but it hadn't been that bad of one. Not too bad, but a nightmare is a nightmare so it got to her.

She didn't like admitting how much they got to her, and hated that she couldn't get over it. There were times when she didn't think about it for a long time and then sometimes it would just sneak up on her. She hated it; hated how it could bug her even now. _'Yep...the past sure is a bitch...'_

"Hey, you ok?"

Riddick's voice caused her to jump and she turned to see him in the doorway.

"Yea"

"You sure?"

"Yea, just tired"

"Well come out and get some coffee, that should help," he suggested, not sounding completely convinced.

Jack nodded and hauled herself up from the bed and moving around the bed to the door. Riddick hadn't moved yet though, so she could just stand there. She stared somewhere around the area of his chest, waiting for him to move aside. He didn't, and instead his hand moved to her face to tilt her head up. She let him and met his eyes.

"You sure?" he asked again, quieter this time like there was someone in the kitchen who he didn't want to hear.

"Yea," she nodded but didn't look him in the eye. There was really no point in ever trying to lie to him, but she hoped he would just drop it.

Amazingly, he did. He nodded but let his hand linger on the side of her face for a while before letting it drop and turning back to the kitchen, where he was making eggs.

_'Well, he's definitely not going to forget that and he'll be asking about it sometime...' _She sighedto herselfand followed him out to the kitchen.

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**R and R. See that review button down there...click it**


	2. Feelings

**Hey, here's chp 2. Sorry it took a while but i've been busy with school. Ugh! school is crap. But anywho...thanks for all the reviews so far! they make me happy! **

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**>>FYI: In my story, Jack was about 15 during Pitch Black. I know she was younger in the movie, but this is my story so it's done my way. hah. SO, now she's 19. So yea, just thought I'd put that out there for anyone who was wondering. I'll probably mention it somewhere in the story but this is just incase i forget.**

**ANYWAY...enjoy...**

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FEELINGS

Riddick was busying himself at the stove and Jack poured herself some coffee. She took a sip and grimaced. He always made it so damn strong. She added some sugar and sat down when she was satisfied with the taste of it.

She sat at the table and absentmindedly watched Riddick work at the stove. He was beautiful. It was a manly kind of beautiful, obviously, but he was beautiful to her. Perfect. In all honesty, he was everything she wanted. Sure, when she was a kid she never imagined herself falling for a infamous killer, but she didn't really see him that way anymore. He was more and less than that. Less in the sense that he was _much_ less of a monster than everyone thought, and more as in there was more to him than just being a killer. People just never gave him a chance.

Funny, though, that as much as she wanted him, she sometimes wondered what she'd do if she could _'have'_ him. Part of her wanted it, longed for it, but another part of her was very scared of the idea.

Riddick sat a plate of eggs down in front of her, snapping her to the present. She took the fork he held out to her and quietly began eating. She really should hurry, she realized, since she still had to shower before she left for work.

She didn't though, and slowly ate her food while Riddick ate and read the paper. When she finished she gathered her dishes, rinsed them off, and deposited them in the sink.

Before she could turn away from the counter and head to the bathroom, an arm snaked around her waits. She looked down, and one of Riddick's muscular arms was set gently but firmly around her waist, his bronze skin a contrast to the white beater she wore, while the other hand was set on the counter to her right.

He leaned into her and she could feel his hot breath on her collarbone, drifting it's way down her shoulder. His lips barely brushed her ear when he spoke.

"Positive that you're ok?" he asked, his gravely voice quiet. He gave her hip a soft squeeze after his question, urging her to answer.

"Uh, yea. Just tired."

"Didn't sleep very well?"

She shook her head, silently feeling lame that she still let the past get to her and couldn't let it be over and done. She wondered if Riddick was every haunted by memories from his stays in prisons. She figured he probably was, from time to time, and made a mental not to ask him sometime.

Jack felt him nod slightly, but he didn't move away. She finally fidgeted a little, causing him to loosen his grip.

"Uh, I gotta get a shower. Thanks for breakfast"

He nodded again and stepped away to let her leave. As she walked out of the kitchen to the little hall, she could feel him watching her leave. She walked on, un-phased, and closed the door behind her. She stripped off her clothes quickly and then stepped into the shower and let the water rinse away the 'morning feeling.'

It was times like thesethat madeJack wonder _exactly _how Riddick felt about her. They always got along and were always close, but sometimes it seemed like he went out of his way to touch her orbe close to her. Did he have feelings for her besides just being friends? It was hard to tell.

She didn't always think that he did, because she didn't know when the change had happened. When had he started having those kinds of feelings, if he even did at all? She didn't understand why he would anyway. He was hot, to put it simply, and could pick up just about any girl for a one-night-stand. So why her? That's why she usually ended at the conclusion that he didn't think of her that way... but she wondered sometimes.

She got out of the shower about 15 minutes later and quickly toweled dry before wrapping the towel around herself. She wiped the fog off of the mirror and looked at herself. She wasn't ugly. In fact, she was pretty good looking. She'd been asked out by guys before and hadn't missed some of the looks she'd gotten from guys, but had never tried to pursue anything. She wasn't sure why, but none of the guys had struck her as someone she'd be into 'that way.' True, she hadn't really given them a chance, but she just wasn't interested.

"Jack, you almost done in there, babe? I gotta take a piss"

"Yea, yea, I'm coming," she mumbled back before making sure the towel was secure around her and then opened the door.

Riddick was waiting patiently outside the door and she walked past him, back to their room to change. She missed him subtly rake his eyes over her form before quickly looking away and going into the bathroom.

"See you tonight," Jack said, suppressing yawn, as she pulled on her jacket and opened the door. She was now dressed in loose, low rise jeans and a tight black t-shirt and would be able to make it on time to her job if she left right that minute.

"Later"

She nodded and left. She worked as an auto mechanic at a garage. It didn't bring in tons of money, but it was enough. She didn't exactly have to make a lot since Riddick's 'jobs' often got them a lot of money.

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Riddick watched Jack intently when she walked away from the bathroom to their bedroom, wearing only a towel. That gave him a perfect view of her tone legs and, when she first stepped out, had given him a good glimpse of her cleavage. It was a nice view, to say the least. Once he realized that he was checking her out, he quickly went into the bathroom.

He didn't know exactly when he started being attracted to her, but he couldn't help it. It felt like it had just snuck up on him one day when he had walked into the kitchen and saw her standing there. She was beautiful. Obviously, growing that way is gradual and takes time...but damn he hadn't seen it coming.

She had long since let her hair grown, and she kept itfell to just past the middle of her shoulder blades. It was brown and thick and looked great. She was no longer a short scrawny little kid. She'd grown a couple inches and filled out perfectly. She was now about 5'7" and around 135 pounds. Her eyes were the same dark green but they were generally happier now. They didn't hold the sad and terrified look that they once had when he first met her. Once in a while they would briefly have that look, when she woke from a nightmare, but it quickly vanished when she realized where she was and that he was there.

She was gorgeous and living with her was a little harder than it had once been. At first he had scolded himself of thinking of her that way because she was just a kid, but then he realized that she wasn't a kid anymore. She was far from it, but he didn't do anything. She couldn't possibly feel that way about him in return, could she? She had too much going for her and she could have any guy. She deserved better than him, but God, he wished. The more he thought about it, the more he realized how well they were together. She was the only person who had ever accepted him even though she knew exactly who he was and exactly what he'd done. He'd never thought anyone would do that, and had always felt alone, that is, until she came along. Now he had someone. He had her. He had her friendship and her trust, and, even though he would have very much liked more, he was satisfied with that.

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**R and R. It's easy, and i'd VERY much appreciate it, so let me know what u think.**

**More coming, and i promise it's gonna get more interesting...**


	3. Trust

**Hey hey! another chp, hope ur excited! haha...umm...a little more is in this one and it's only gonna get better. The other 2 were a lot of background and things...but things are gonna start picking up soon. Hope you enjoy. R and R to let me know.**

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TRUST

Jack walked into the garage right on time and got to work right away. She wasn't really in the mood to chat and 'shoot-the-shit', so to say. Either her co-workers noticed or they were too busy working, because no one bothered her much.

"Hey, Jack, can you slide me that wrench to your right?" Nick hollered to her from under a car near her.

"Huh? Oh...yea..." she absentmindedly slid him a wrench, not paying any attention.

"Yo, your other right girl"

"Huh?"

"This is the wrench that was on your left. I need the one on your right," he explained in an amused tone, sliding out from under the car he was working on.

"Oh...right, I knew that" Jack grabbed it and slid out from hers and sat up. "Here...sorry."

"Don't sweat it... you ok?"

"Yea, I'm good. Didn't sleep much last night," she explained offhandedly.

"Oho, what were you going last night?" Nick asked with a chuckle, raising his eyebrows and smileing.

"Not like that," Jack slapped his arm and smiled. "Just couldn't sleep...ya know?"

"Yea, I know what you mean. But hey, you're off in a hour so you can go home and sleep."

"This is true...but first I have to finish," she waved her hand at the car she still needed to finish up before laying back down and rolling back under it.

The truth was, she wasn't very tired anymore. She was just caught up in thinking about other things...anything, really, other than the car and the task at hand. She felt fidgety but couldn't seem to focus that energy on quickly finishing up the work in front of her.

Finally, a little over an hour later, she was done and heading for the door. She felt like she was in need of a long run and then a hot shower. Unfortunately, it was already pretty dark, so Riddick wouldn't like her going for a run. She'd just have to settle for taking a go at the punching bag or something. Riddick had managed to rent out a small room in the basement of their current apartment, and had a weight bench set up along with floor mats and a punching bag. Simple, but perfect for what they used it for.

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"I'm home," Jack called, tossing her keys onto the table when she walked in. 

"Hey" Riddick was sitting on the couch watching the news on the TV.

"Um...I think I'm gonna go down to the basement, ok?"

"Sure...want me to come?"

"Only if you want to," Jack said as she headed to change into different pants. She knew he was coming, though,because he wouldn't have offered if he didn't want to. He usually went with her anyway, so it wasn't a big surprise.

She came back out a few minutes with gray sweat pants on instead of her jeans, and followed him down the flights of stairs and down a dark, dank hall to the small room they rented. They turned the lights on dim before stretching out.

"So, how was work?"

"Same shit, different day"

He nodded and they quickly finished up their stretches.

"Ladies first," Riddick smirked and motioned to the bag.

Jack rolled her eyes before laying into the bag. The pent up energy from the day came out and it felt good. Always did.

"Hmm...bad day?" Riddick asked with a chuckle as he grabbed the bag to hold it for her.

"Nah...just boring..."

He nodded and waited for Jack to finish before taking his turn. Jack stood back and watched with awe as he went at the canvas bag. His sheer power was amazing and fascinating, but it had never scared her. She knew he'd never hurt her, and her trust in him was absolute.

Her trust was the reason she'd spar with him. With the extremely obvious size difference, the only reason she wasn't scared of working with him was that she knew he'd hold back. He'd give her a chance, and used anything she did wrong to help teach her. She was getting better, with his help, and liked to learn.

"You ready?"

Jack nodded and they faced off. They circled each other a few times before Riddick decided to get things started. He lunged at her and she quickly dodged it and landed a kick to his chest. Riddick grabbed her ankle and pulled her down with him. She fell near him and quickly rolled over and scrambled to her feet.

They resumed their stances and Riddick faked another lunge for her, making her jump back. As soon as her feet hit the floor, Riddick swept his leg out and she fell on her back. He was quickly on top of her, pinning her arms to her sides. She attempted to bring her knee up between his legs but he quickly pinned her legs down as well. He'd learned the hard way that she'd play dirty if she got the chance and, while he was proud of that, he didn't want to be on the receiving end of a kick in the balls.

"Say Uncle," He growled.

"Never," she hissed out, trying to free herself from under him.

"Not happenin' babe," He smirked and tightened his grip on her, making it almost impossible for her to move much. "Say it or I ain't gonna let go."

"Ugh... fine...Uncle," she spat, and his grip went slack and he sat back.

Jack took advantage of his guard being put down a little, and heaved her weight to the side, throwing him off balance, and rolled over on top of him.

"Hey, you said Uncle," Riddick complained, amusement evident in his voice.

"Yea well..." Jack shrugged and hopped up to her feet, offering him her hand.

Riddick took it and used it to pull her to the ground before getting up on his own with a smirk.

Jack mumbled something incoherent and got back up to her feet. They circled each other and Riddick grabbed her arm when she swung at him and pulled it to pin her against the wall. She grunted quietly when her back made contact with the wall and he lifted her off the ground a little.

"You seem a little off today," he said lowly in her ear.

"Yea, whatever," she grumbled, trying to loosen his grasp, but to no avail. She didn't even know why she bothered to try.

"Hmm..." he looked her over and let her drop back to her feet before grabbing her by the neck.

She didn't do anything and he tightened his grip. She rolled her eyes and brought her arm up and her elbow down on his forearm, just like he'd taught her.

"Good...lay down"

"What?"

"Do it," he said simply and she complied, knowing it was some kind of lesson.

She sat herself in the middle of the mat and laid back.

"K, close your eyes"

She obeyed with a sigh and heard the soft pat of his feet on the mat, slowly circling her.

"Alright, say your enemy's got you down on the ground and maybe you hit your head. They think you're out of it, but your not...listen to me move..."

He stopped talking and Jack mentally followed him moving around her.

"You're enemy's gonna wanna make sure of it, and as sure as he's a coward he'll kick you. But you know it, right? So you'll be ready..."

He moved around some more and Jack kept listening to him. She heard a soft rush of wind and blocked his oncoming foot with a quick hand.

"Good job... and remember that. Your man will always kick you when they think you're down, you got that?"

Jack nodded and got back to her feet.

"Alright, wanna head up?" It wasn't exactly a question. He was putting his boots back on and obviously expected her to do the same. He was right, she was a little off today, but she still had energy.

"Nah, you go ahead. I'm gonna stick round down here for a while"

"You sure?"

"Yep"

"Ok, remember to lock up when you're done"

Jack nodded absently and turned back to the punching back, which was something that didn't fight back, leaving her to spend all of her energy. She heard Riddick leave but stayed until she was breathing heavy and feeling spent. She sat for a few minutes before putting her shoes on, locking up, and trudging upstairs.

She walked into their apartment and made a beeline for the shower. Riddick must've just taken a shower because the water wasn't as hot as it sometimes was, but it felt good all the same. She kept it short and just rinsed off to get rid of the sweat.

She found Riddick in the living room, starting a sandwich, and went to the kitchen to make herself one before joining.

"Feel better?"

"Yea"

He nodded and they silently watched the rest of the news. Then they were reduced to aimlessly flicking through channels, trying to find something worth watching. Nothing really was, so they left it on some stupid made-for-TV-movie and watched it with half hearted interest.

Jack shifted and stretched herself out on the couch, using Riddick's lap for a pillow. His hand fell to her hair and he ran his hands through it lightly.

"Jack..."

"Hmm?" she rolled onto her back so she was looking straight up at him and found him returning her gaze.

"You know you can talk to me, right?"

"Course I do"

"About anything?"

She shifted a little. "Uh...yea"

"Well...?"

"Well...this is something I have to try and figure out myself, ya know?" She looked up at him, hoping he wouldn't be upset.

"Yea...but if you wanna talk about it..."

"I know"

"Ok" He nodded and went back to stroking her hair and watching the TV.

Jack sighed and turned her attention to the TV as well. She figured Riddick could understand. She knew he had plenty of his own demons that he'd had to deal with, so he could probably understand the feeling. It wasn't that she didn't_want_ to talk to him about stuff...but she thought it might be better if she tried to figure things out on her own. If she needed him she knew he'd be there, and that was comforting and made it easier to face.

Riddick flicked the TV off a little after midnight and Jack groaned before sitting up. She'd probably be a little sore in the morning. Riddick chuckled while she stretched. "Gonna suck going to work tomorrow"

"Probably won't have to. I have the day off, but Randy said he might have to call me, soI guessit depends."

"Ah. Well I'm gonna go pick up a job tomorrow but that shouldn't take long. We'll find something to do"

"Ok"

Jack got up and went to the bedroom while Riddick went and made sure the door was securely locked before checking the windows. He always did that. Call him paranoid, and he wouldn't care. Jack didn't bother commenting about it because she knew he'd had enough people sneaking up on him that he was always going to be careful, and she could understand.

He came into the room after she'd already crawled into bed, and stripped off his shirt, so he was in only his sweat pants. He kept his shirt in hand and found Jack's clothes and threw them all in the basket they had of dirty clothes. That was another thing Jack had learned early on about Riddick. He was a subconscious neat freak. If there was a little mess somewhere, he'd take a minute and pick it up. Jack had asked him about it once and he'd simply shrugged and told her there was no point in having shit lying around if it didn't have to be. Made sense, but she still gave him a hard time about it once in a while, just for the heck of it.

Riddick climbed into bed and draped an arm around Jack and pulled her closer. Jack closed he eyes, hoping she wouldn't have a nightmare, and soon fell asleep.

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**Well, there it was.A new chp should be coming soon because i pretty much know where i'm gonna go with this. **

**R and R**

**OH! i took some lines from the movie 'Enough.' The lines about your man kicking you when you're down are kind of from it. Not the exact words or w/e, but thegeneral idea...so yea...don't sue me!**


	4. Remembering

**Here's the next Chp. Took longer than I meant it too, but here it is. Next one should be soon. Hope you like it, and thanks SO much for the review so far, i love em.**

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REMEMBERING

"Jack...hey, Jack"

Jack woke up to someone lightly shaking her and sleepily opened her eyes. "What?"

"I gotta go, ok?"

"Where?" She sat up quickly and got a dizzy feeling for a few seconds.

"Got to pick up a job. It shouldn't take too long"

"Ok...right. See ya"

"Yea, see you"

He turned and left while Jack pulled on a zip-up hoodie. She got it on and padded out to the kitchen, figuring Riddick would take maybe a couple hours.

He took murder for hire jobs. Most of the assignments were done for people who didn't want to bother getting their hands dirty with the jobs, so they paid good money for someone else to do it and keep their mouth shut. Riddick was the best and everyone knew it. Of course, his alias was Brian, taken from his middle name, and no one knew who he _really_ was. His 'name' got around though, and he wasn't generally short of jobs.

Jack got a big bowl of cereal and ate it in the living room while she watched some of the news. It was almost 10:00 and she was surprised that she'd slept in so late. She was a habitual 'early-bird' and hardly slept in at all.

She set her dish on the end table when she finished and sprawled out on the couch. Her limbs were sore a little as she stretched them, but it felt good. Unbidden thoughts sprung to mind and she was stuck remembering. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to doze off, still thinking about when 'it' started.

_A young Jack sat all alone in her small childhood home. She didn't want to be alone; she wanted her dad. Her mom had died the week before, and now it seemed that her dad was hardly around. She didn't know why and she didn't know where he was. He was just...gone. No explanations or apologies; just gone._

_She heard a key in the door and she was momentarily happy, knowing it was her dad. When the door swung open, however, he stumbled in, clutching a bottle and smelling funny. She didn't really understand what was wrong, but she knew it wasn't right. This had certainly never happened before._

_"Jacqueline, where's your mother!" he practically yelled at her._

_What? Why would he say that? He knew where she was, and he knew what happened. How could he say that to her?_

_"I said, WHERE IS SHE!" he bellowed_

_"Dad...she...you know what happened..." she mumbled, tears brimming her eyes. Why was he asking?_

_"Where the hell is she!" He crossed the room in long strides and grabbed her arms, hauling her up from the couch._

_"Ow, dad, that hurts," she cried, trying to get away._

_"Shut up...where is she!" he screamed, not able to think clearly in his drunken haze._

_"She...dad, she died. Last week. Don't you remember?"_

_"NO!" he threw her to the floor effortlessly and shook his head. "No...she isn't"_

_"Yes dad, the funeral was last weekend..."_

_"Shut up...shut up...what did you do!" He screamed, pulling her back up and slamming her back against the wall. "WHAT. DID. YOU. DO!"_

"No," Jack sat up straight on the couch, breathing heavily. "He's gone, damn it, and it's over," she assured herself and got up to take a shower.

All during the shower she silently assured herself that it was, indeed, over. She hadn't seen or heard from in years. Hell, he could be dead for all she knew, not that she'd care if he were. In fact, she'd be very much relieved to find out that he was. A part of her was always scared that he'd just show up one day. It was unreasonable, she knew, but she thought about it sometimes.

That was the reason, she realized, that she couldn't get past it all that well. What if the past came back to her present? In all honesty, that's what she was scared of. Deep down, she was scared of her dad randomly showing up. As much as she doubted that it would every happen, there was always the lingering 'what if,' because you never really know. Just the thought of her dad still got her panicky.

"Jack, I'm home," Riddick voice drifted into the bathroom with a soft knock on the door that made her jump.

Either she'd been in the shower a long time or she'd fallen asleep longer than she'd realized. She didn't care which was the reason, and quickly got out and pulled on some tear-away pants and white 3/4 length shirt with blue sleeves. She combed through her straight hair quickly and then left the bathroom.

"Hey, you didn't have to come out on my account," Riddick said, looking up when she walked into the kitchen.

"Way to flatter yourself, but I was done"

"Oh"

He nodded and looked down at the small folder he had and flipped through it. Jack knew it was some information on his new target. He always checked out the guy he was supposed to hit, and had even turned down a job once or twice.

"Who's it this time?" Jack asked, pouring herself the rest of the coffee that was left in the pot.

Riddick shrugged at first and was quiet for a while. He didn't exactly like discussing this part of his life with Jack, but didn't hide it from her. She knew what he did and she embraced that part of him as well, which was one of the many great things about her.

"Vincent Hern. Sounds like he double crossed the guy who hired me...and it seems that he likes little kids too...world won't miss him then..." Riddick read something for a few minutes before closing the folder. "So, what're you doing today?"

"Absolutely nothing...maybe I'll rent some movies or something, but I feel like staying in. Just one of them days, ya know?"

"Yea...I think I'll just hang inside with you and take care of this," he nodded to the folder, "tonight. 'The Boss' said he's predictable as hell and goes to the same small bar every Wednesday and Friday night at 10:30 and stays for a half hour. Comes and goes alone, but usually does some drug dealing while he's there. This is gonna be easy"

"Too easy?" Jack asked. Even though she knew there was no reason to really be scared for him, she usually was. There was always the possibility things could go wrong. Things almost had a few times,so she was always a little nervous.

"No. Not too easy. Just easy because the idiot has a routine," he assured her levely, looking her in the eye.

"Ok" Jack nodded and downed the last of the coffee.

"So, renting movies?"

"Yea"

"Well go ahead. I think I'm gonna shower or something...don't take too long"

"Yes sir," she threw him a solute and got up from the table and headed for the door.

"You should be marching, soldier," he tossed at her with a smirk.

"Screw you," she flipped him the bird over her shoulder and left.

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**R and R. See the review button?...click it :)**


	5. The Job and Some Thinking

**Hey, sorry it took so long to update. I've been pretty busy with school and whatnot, so i've had a lot to do. Thanks a lot for all the review so far, i appreciate it a lot. Anyway, here's the next chp, hope you enjoy**

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THE JOB AND SOME THINKING

Jack came back a little while after Riddick got out of the shower, with a small bag in her hand.

"What did you get?"

"Some old movies..."

"Yea, what else is new?" Riddick asked, taking a seat on the couch.

Jack smiled. She'd always like old movies from the 20th and 21st century. "Hmmm, I got_ Red Dragon_, _Black hawk Down_, _Minority Report_, and _Casablanca_."

"Casablanca? Jack, haven't you seen that enough times?" He asked in a fake annoyed tone.

"It's a good movie, so shut the hell up and tell me what you wanna watch," She said teasingly. She had always liked the movie and he gave her a hard time whenever she'd pick it up, even though they both knew he liked it too. They both appreciated the 'classics.'

"Haha...what's _Black hawk Down_?"

"A war movie"

"That sounds better right now. Pop it in"

Jack put it in and sat next to him on the couch to watch it.

"That wasn't so bad," Riddick commented once the credits started.

"Yea, I have good taste"

"Yea, I guess you do. I got time to eat before I leave, what sounds good?"

"Pizza. I'll make it," Jack got up from her seat and got everything made.

"Well, I'm gonna get going, ok? I'll probably be late coming back," Riddick said, stopping by the door.

"Ok...be careful"

"Yea, don't worry," He assured her before leaving.

* * *

Riddick slipped out of the small bar and hid himself in the shadows of a nearby alley. He'd seen his man go in and sit down and order a drink. Once he knew his target was there, he left to wait. He was good at waiting. 

He watched people walk by, oblivious to his presence, and checked his watch. He had about 20 minutes left, if his man stayed true to his schedule. He was glad this shouldn't take long because he wanted to get home.

He'd liked spending the day with Jack, even though they'd just sat and watched a movie. Except fot the weekends, they usually only had mornings and nights together, since Jack was at work during the day. He'd told her before that she didn't have to work, since his jobs got them enough money, but she insisted. She didn't want to feel useless and she didn't know what she'd do being home all day every day. He could understand that. He often got restless around the house, but usually found ways to occupy himself. He wished Jack was around more though. He didn't have anyone else to talk to, not that he'd particularly want to talk to someone else. Nobody else got him like she did. _'Damn, she's so perfect... stop. I really need to stop thinking about her like I do. She probably doesn't even think of you like that, ass.' _he scolded himself and checked his watch again.

10 more minutes... 5... 2... 1... _'Yep, just like clock-work'_

His man walked out of the bar and headed right towards him. As he passed, he grabbed the man, clamping a hand over his mouth, and pulled him into the alley.

"Neo says he's disappointed," Riddick growled in the man's ear. He let the news sink in before cutting his throat and letting him crumple to the ground. He twitched for a moment before going still. Dead.

Riddick crouched down and opened the man's mouth. His 'employers' usually wanted proof that the job was done, and this man wanted the guy's molars as evidence. Riddick didn't care why; he just did it. After a few minutes, Riddick had two molars in a little plastic bag and tucked it into hit pocket, going back onto the main street and heading left.

"What's your business?" A big black man asked Riddick at the door of a big office building.

"Here to see Neo. Did him a favor tonight"

The man nodded and stood aside to let Riddick in. He rode the elevator to the 9th floor and got out and headed to the doors at the end of the hall. The doors led into a large office room with a big desk. Behind the desk sat an older man with dark hair slicked back and he wore a suit.

"It's done?" The man asked.

"Yep, just like you asked. Here you go," Riddick handed him the bag, which the man inspected carefully.

"All right. Here's your payment," He handed Riddick a plastic chip, which held his money. "I put extra on it for fact that you did it so soon."

"No point in waiting," Riddick replied evenly.

"Yes, of course. Will you be staying in the area much longer? I'm sure that, seeing the line of work I'm in, I'll have need of your services in the future."

"I'm not sure. It all depends, really. You know how to get in touch with me"

Neo nodded and waved his hand, dismissing him.

Riddick quickly left and headed to a Cred machine where he could switch the money into a different account. He put in the appropriate information and the money was soon on its way to his personal account. He used to be able to do all this from home on Jack's laptop, but she didn't have one anymore. They'd had to leave it behind, with a lot of other things, when they had to leave a planet real quick one time a while back. He didn't know why, but they'd never gotten around to getting another one. He'd get her one soon sometime to surprise her. He was sure she missed having one.

When he was done, he took the long route home. He needed to wind down before he went home. He'd be lying if he said he didn't still get a thrill from a kill, so he never said it. But he knew how to control the beast now and he never showed it around Jack unless he had to. She'd see him kill before, though, when he'd had to ghost some mercs while she was around. She understood that he had to. If he didn't, it would be both of their asses. He knew she understood, but he hid it from her whenever he could. That wasn't his whole life now, like it had been before. He'd found the part of him that didn't need that; the part of him that needed _her_. She'd helped him find it and she showed him that he _could _be human, something he'd thought he forgot how to be a long time ago.

By the time he got to their building, he was wound down and ready to grab a beer and relax.

* * *

Jack looked up when he came in and smiled before looking back at the TV. He went straight through the kitchen and into the bathroom to take a quick shower before grabbing his beer and taking a seat with her on the couch. 

He used tousually sit in the other chair but had recently found that he enjoyed sitting with Jack more. He liked being close to her and the innocent contact that resulted from it. Maybe he shouldn't like it, he could never really decide, but he did anyway. She never protested, so she obviously didn't mind it or else he would've stopped.

He looked down at her now, leaning against him with his arm around her, and wondered what went on in her head when they sat like this. Did she like it? Did she feel warmth spread through her where they made contact? Could she possibly feel the same way about him? He knew that she used to have a crush on him when they'd first met on the planet, but had all that changed? He never knew and it confused him. He hated not knowing. He'd have to figure out soon, he decided. It was too hard living with her like this sometimes, and he at least wanted to know. But would it scare her away? Was that a risk he wanted to take? He wasn't sure about that either...

Credits rolling along the screen alerted him to the fact that the movie she'd been finishing was now over, so he turned the TV off. Her steady, even breathing told him she'd fallen asleep. Carefully, he scooped her up into his arms and carried her to their room, gently laying her on the bed. Luckily she'd already changed into sweat pants, so he didn't have to wake her up to change.

He stripped down to his boxers and climbed in next to her. She instinctively moved closer when he put an arm around her and he just watched her sleep. He brushed lock of hair from her face and let his hand rest on her cheek. She tensed for a moment before relaxing to her touch and turning her cheek into his hand.

He let his hand drop and sighed. He'd definitely have to figure this all out. He knew it but how to go about it remained a nagging problem. He ran a hand over his head in frustration and felt stubble. His last thought before starting to doze off was that he needed to shave soon.

* * *

**well there u have it. Hope you liked it. Some more action coming in the next chap, which should be up soon. yay!**

**R and R**


	6. Forgot To Lock It

**Hey, well here's the next chp. I've had it done for a while and just haven't put it up, sorry. But i promise the next chp is soon, cuz i'm just about done with it. Whoo hoo! so yea, interesting stuff it about to happen...**

* * *

FORGOT TO LOCK IT

Riddick woke up late the next morning, feeling Jack slip out from under his arm. "Mmm...where you going?"

"To the kitchen, I'm hungry"

Riddick just chuckled and buried his face in the pillow, wanting to go back to bed. She always seemed hungry and could seriously pack it away if she wanted to, not that any of it showed.

Sleep didn't come so he got up and went to the kitchen just as Jack was sitting down with a bowl of cereal and some coffee. He got some coffee for himself and sat across from her.

"So, what're you doin today?" She asked around a mouth full of Cheerios.

"Dunno"

Jack nodded and ate the rest of her food heartily.

"I'm gonna take a shower," She informed him, walking out of the kitchen down the little hall.

Riddick read the paper while she showered before going to the bedroom to change out of his sweat pants. He looked through his clothes and grabbed a pair of black jeans. He usually wore his standard black cargo pants but Jack was slowly getting him to start expanding his wardrobe. She tried to get him khakis once, but she even admitted that it just didn't seem 'right' on him.

He pulled on a black beater and turned when Jack walked in, wearing only a gray tank top and a pair of black underwear.

"Forget some pants?" he asked after moment, trying to cover up the fact that he was trying hard not so stare at her legs.

"They got wet..." she trailed off and walked past him to get some pants.

He watched as she walked away from him and bent over. His eyes were glued to her ass and her hips. Damn, she had great hips. They just begged to be spread apart, and... '_Shit, stop. Damn...maybe I need to get laid...'_

He shook his head and left the room, wondering if he did need to get laid. It'd been quite a while since he'd gone out to find some 'female companionship.' Naturally, he'd never brought any girls home, since he shared a bed with Jack, but he'd gone out to get some before. He hadn't since...well, since he started seeing Jack differently. That had been...shit, he didn't even remember how long ago it'd been. Maybe that's what he'd do today...

Jack joined him in the living room a little while later and pulled on some socks, followed by her tennis shoes.

"Goin somewhere?"

"Yea, i'm gonna hang out at Kylie's for a while and then we're going for a run. I think I'm gonna stop at the store on the way home to get some, uh, stuff. Need anything?"

"Not that I can think of. What kind of 'uh, stuff' are you getting?" He asked curiously.

"Just stuff"

"Like...?"

"Never mind," she grinned a little and got up from the couch.

"What? Come on"

"It has nothing to do with you so you won't really care"

"Then just tell me"

"Tampons"

"Oh, yea...you're right, I don't care, as long as I don't have to go get them again," He said quickly, remembering the time he'd had to go get some for her. There had been so many damn brands and he'd been confused as hell. He hoped he wouldn't have to do it again.

"Right. Well, I'm gone. I won't be out late or anything, so I'll see you later"

Riddick nodded and she left. Perfect, now he was free to go out and do whatever he wanted. Or, more to the point, WHOever he wanted.

He hauled himself off the couch, feeling somewhat guilty for some reason. He wasn't sure why. He was a man and he had certain needs, so what was the problem? He wrote the feeling off and left the apartment.

An hour later he was at a brothel he'd heard talk of on the street, and waiting for the girl the owner was going to bring to him. When the man asked him what he was looking for, he gave a vague description of a girl and the man said he'd be right back. Once the man was walking away, Riddick realized he'd described someone that should look something like Jack, and he cringed for a moment. Was that sick of him? He wasn't sure, but all he needed was a good lay so it shouldn't matter what the girl looked like.

The rather plump man came back a few minutes later with a girl on his arm. Riddick sized her up. She was taller than Jack and skinner... shit; that didn't matter. This had nothing to do with Jack.

He nodded and the owner walked away again as the girl took Riddick's arm and led him back to a room. She shut the door behind them and advanced towards him, swaying her hips under her barely-there skirt. She walked up to him and slid her hands under his shirt, going straight for his belt buckle. She got it undone but Riddick stilled her hands and bent forward to kiss her. Most girls in these places don't let you do that, but he'd specifically asked for one that would.

The girl kissed him back aggressively and slipped her hands under his shirt to feel his chest. '_Jack wouldn't be this aggressive; she'd be shier about this... shut up!_' He tried to rid his head of thought of Jack, and pulled the girl closer to him. '_She doesn't feel right. Jack feels perfect... shut the hell up!'_

"What's the matter, sugar?" The girl asked sweetly, looking up at him when he hesitated.

"Nothing," he said quickly, but something was wrong.

As soon as she spoke, the first thing he thought was that she didn't sound like Jack. Her voice was much to high to be Jack's, and too sickly-sweet. Jack's was naturally lower and this girl just wasn't right. He'd never be able to do this when thoughts of Jack kept popping into his mind, distracting him and telling him how 'wrong' this girl was.

"I have to go," he said suddenly, buckling his pants back up and heading to the door. As an after thought, he threw some money on the bed and then he just left, leaving the girl to glare at him. He didn't care.

He walked right out of the building and back to the apartment to take a shower; both to cool himself down and to get the smell of the girl off of him.

He got out of the shower and walked around the apartment to find something to do. He felt restless, and nothing held his attention for long. He finally settled for doing push-ups, followed by sit-ups and then push-ups again, and so on, while wondering when Jack would be home.

His question was answered around 4:00 when Jack walked through the door, while he was on his 3rd time around of push-ups.

"Hey, having fun?" she asked with a smirk.

"Yep, sure am," he said sarcastically with a grunt, continuing.

Jack rolled her eyes and put her bag away before going back to the living room.

"What're you on? Like...500?" She asked after a moment of watching him, noting the sheen of sweat on his arms.

"Nope...50," he said, switching to lie on his back for his sit-ups.

"Oh, yea...how long you been at this?"

"Dunno...for a while..."

"Well don't hurt yourself," she said simply, getting up to find something to do. She figured he was 'in the zone' and wouldn't want to be distracted from his precious work out.

"Don't think I will. Wanna join?"

"Huh?"

"What, sit-ups and push-ups too hard for you?"

"No, but I just ran 6 miles, so I don't feel like it"

"Well...boo-hoo for you," he teased.

Jack shrugged and got a bottle of water and sat watching him for a while. After his sit-ups be got to his feet and flopped onto the couch next to Jack.

"So, what're you doing for the rest of the day?" he asked, taking her water and finishing it.

"Dunno...but I suggest you take a shower..."

"Am I too smelly for you?"

"I could deal with it, but I'd probably move to the chair over there because, yea, you kind of smell"

"All right, but you get to make dinner then." he got up and headed down the hall to the bathroom to take a shower... again.

When he came back out Jack was pulling a pizza from the oven.

"Whoa, talk about good timing...wanna grab some plates?"

They ate quietly at the table, neither having much to say. They put their dishes in the sink when they were done and Jack splashed some water at Riddick, just for the heck of it.

"What was that for?"

"It was an accident...my hand slipped"

"Like hell it did," he smirked.

"Oh well, what're you gonna do about it?"

"Oh, you don't want to know," he grinned, grabbing a cup that still had some milk in it.

"Don't even..." too late. He dumped the cup of milk on her head.

"Damn you, not I have to take _another_ shower"

Riddick shrugged and turned to walk away, thinking it was over. It wasn't. Jack reached out and squeezed just the perfect spot on his side. The only spot she knew of that he was ticklish. He quickly grabbed her hand and pinned her against the counter, his hand hovering over her stomach, a smile on his face.

She opened her mouth to say something and he tickled her. She laughed uncontrollably, squirming against him to get away. He stopped when she was laughing so hard that she might not be getting enough oxygen and watched her get her breath back, unable to help that fact that his eyes fell on her breasts, watching them rise and fall.

He stepped back quickly, hoping to God she hadn't felt the small twitch of arousal that had started in his pants. She didn't seem to, thankfully.

"Well that was fun, but now I have to go take a shower...again. Ass"

"Uh, yea, I'm gonna go down to the basement," he said quickly, needed to let loose somemore energy.

"Yea? You ok?"

"I'm fine. I won't be too long"

"Ok, lock the door behind you," She said over her shoulder. For some inexact reason, she liked the doors locked when Riddick wasn't home. Riddick was a sense of security for her and when he was gone, locked doors were the best replacement she had for him.

"Yea I know," he mumbled as she headed away.

He finished putting the dishes away and put the leftovers in the fridge before heading to the door. He left and walked down to the basement, having the strange feeling that he forgot to do something...

* * *

Just under an hour later, Riddick was pulling his boots back on and heading to the door of the basement room. He hadn't been able to get rid of the feeling that he forgot about something and remembered what it was just as he locked the door to the room. He didn't lock their apartment door. '_Shit...nah, it should be fine. She'll never even know.' _He assured himself.

But as he pulled the key from the lock, the nagging feelingthathad been telling him he forgot something turned into a different feeling. A feeling that something wasn't quite right. He was sure nothing could be wrong, but he'd learned to trust his instincts, so he quickened his pace as he headed back up to their room, his senses on alert.

Riddick turned the corner to their room and froze. The door that he absolutely knew he'd shut behind him now stood slightly ajar...

* * *

**oh boy...what's gonna happen? The next chp should be up soon...maybe even later tonight if i get around to finishing it...**

**R and R to tell me what u think**


	7. Idiots and Guilt

**hey! sorry for the cliffy...ok, no i'm not...haha, i thought it was time i had once since i hadn't b4...but i didn't make u wait long, so don't be mad. hah, so anyway, here's the chp...**

* * *

IDIOTS AND GUILT

Jack stepped out of the shower and swore she had heard the door of the apartment open. Riddick shouldn't be back yet though, so she wrote it off as her imagination. She pulled on her sweat pants and walked back to their room in only those and a bra, since her shirt had milk on it.

She walked down the hall and just knew something was wrong. Everything was quiet...to quiet. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest and she headed to the living room, just to look around and assure herself that she was being paranoid. As she stepped near the couch, she about jumped out of her skin when she heard a voice. A voice that was most definitely not Riddick's.

"Well looky what we have here..." A voice drawled right before a man stepped around the corner.

She turned and saw a tall man standing at the end of the hallway with messy, curly hair and a scruffy beard. He smirked sickly and took a step toward her so she took a step back, only to be grabbed from behind by someone who has stepped silently out from behind entertainment center.

She swung her elbow back and hit him in the gut and he let her go. Before she even took two steps though, the other man was right in front of her. And threw her up against the wall next to the couch, causing the air to rush out of her lungs.

"Well, well... you're a feisty one, ain't ya? Riddick teach you that?" he chuckled, apparently thinking he was funny.

"Who?" Jack asked, so naturally that she even surprised herself. She'd ran into mercs look for Riddick a couple times before and had been able to fool some of them into thinking that they had the wrong girl and that she had no clue where Riddick was. She'd just pull the 'who, me?' act and most guys fell for it when she started panicking that Richard B. Riddick was on the same planet that she was, and so on.

"Don't try pulling the innocent shit with me, sister. We know he's around here somewhere. We searched the place already, so he must just be out. We thought maybe he left for a quick fuck or something... but I can't figure why he'd do that, seeing as he has a hot, young thing like you right here to use as a sex-toy."

Jack swallowed nervously as the man rakes his eyes over her, licking his lower lip.

"Look, I don't know who you are or who you're looking for, but I'd appreciate it if you got the hell out of my apartment. This is invasion of privacy," she said quickly, like a merc really cared if they broke some laws or not.

"Yea? Then what're you doing with a bunch of guy clothes in your closet then? They look too big for you,"

"Hey, fuck you, alright"

"See, I'd much rather fuck YOU," He sneered at her, running his hand down her side, stopping momentarily to linger at her breasts.

"You wish," she hissed, pushing his hand away.

"Oh, you wanna be like that? Fine. Just tell us where he is and we'll leave you alone."

"I don't know who you're looking for. If I knew them I'd tell you where they were, now just go"

"Can't do that," He shrugged.

Jack glared at him and brought her knee up to catch him in the nuts, but he anticipated her move and caught her leg.

"This coulda been easy for ya, but, since you're being so uncooperative, it looks like you need some convincing..." The man growled. "Dax, stay out here and keep watch. Logan, you come on with me and work on convincing her to tell us what we wanna know..."

Another man walked out of the bedroom and went out into the kitchen to watch the door. The man who seemed to be in charge gave the man behind her, Logan, a nod and the next thing Jack knew she was shoved towards the couch. She swung at the big, blonde haired man and caught him by surprise, landing her fist on the right side of his jaw.

"Bitch!" he spat, shoving her again.

She stumbled back and caught herself just before she was about to fall. The man lunged for her, using the fact that she was unbalanced against her, and tackled her to the ground. The breath rushed out of her quickly and he pinned her down.

She pushed at him as he climbed on top of her, but he was too big and her pushes didn't deter him much. Mostly they just annoyed him and, sickly, seemed to excite him.

Somehow, she was able to shove him to the side and was about to roll to her feet when a foot came out of nowhere and caught her hard in the side. She gasped and her short delay was enough time for Logan to pin her down again, this time more forcefully.

"Damn it, stop!" he growled, grabbing her arms and pinning them above her head.

"Get off!" Jack squirmed underneath him, trying to get her hands free.

"Hold still, damn it," he spate, back handing her across the face twice.

Jack refused to let the tears that stung her eyes fall, and kept trying to get loose. Riddick would have to be back soon and all she had to do was make it until then.

"Stupid bitch...Toombs, hold on to her hands, huh? She'll learn to fight me"

Toombs, the man who seemed in charge, chuckled and held her arms back.He watched the scene before him intently, wondering what this chick's deal was. He honestly thought he had Big Bad this time, once he found out Riddick was with some girl. He figured the girl would give him up like nothing and then they'd have him. Just his luck the girl would be a stubborn one. He'd let Logan do whatever he wanted to her, but wouldn't get in on it just yet. He kept one ear out for noise at the door and was ready to split, with or without his other men. Touching something of Riddick's was generally a bad idea and he didn't know what this girl meant to Riddick just yet.

"Bitch!" Logan roared when Jack still refused to stop struggling.

She had wiggled out from under him and was scrambling back to get to her feet, but he caught her left ankle and pulled her back towards him. She kicked out with her free foot and connected with his shoulder. He hissed a string of curses at her and caught her foot as it came back at him for another kick.

He pulled back and punched her in the stomach and a couple times, hoping to get it through to her not to piss him off. She went still for a moment, hissing in pain and he smirked. That should teach her.

He made quick work of untying her sweat pants and pulling them down. He roughly spread her legs apart and pressed himself against her through his jeans. She whimpered and tried to squirm away, tugging fruitlessly at the hold Toombs had on her arms.

"Gonna tell us where he's at, doll? I'll get him off ya if you just tell me?" Toombs whispered in her ear.

Jack shook her head, not trusting her voice to sound even. She wouldn't give Riddick up; she couldn't, not matter what. Toombs shrugged and tightened his grip on her forearms.

Logan unzipped his jeans, showing her was going commando. He yanked her legs up around him, so her lower back was not completely off the floor, and moved his hand to rip off her underwear.

Toombs held up a hand and covered Jack's mouth, listening intently. He heard a soft slump from the other room and his heart skipped a beat. Shit, that meant Riddick was back. They'd lost the element of surprise.

He turned to tell Logan when Jack bit into his hand. A groan escaped him before he could stop it and he punched Jack in the face out of aggravation.

He got up and silently slunk back to a corner of the living room, cursing himself for having such a small crew. He'd get a bigger one next time, determined that there would be a next time.

Logan blinked and Toombs was gone. He was about to say something when he got a knee in his groin for his momentary carelessness of loosening his grin on Jack.

"Son of a" His phrase was cut short when he was bodily yanked off his knees and into the air.

"Don't fucking move," a voice warned him, growling in his ear. Logan nodded and didn't dare say a word as the cold metal of a knife was placed at his throat. "What the fuck were you thinking? Coming into my home, fucking with what's mine..." he growled eerily.

Logan's hand twitched towards his gun but the shiv pressing harder against his skin stopped him.

"Don't even think about it. Two men? Only two? That's fucking insulting, you know that?"

"Three," Logan whispered hoarsely. He was a chicken-shit and would rat out Toombs if he thought it meant me might get to live. He was stupid as hell to think that.

"That's still not good enough"

The last thing Logan knew was an exploding pain in the back of his head and then nothing.

Riddick looked around to find the third guy. He was about to ask Jack where he was when he spotted him near the window. He advanced towards the man... but then the man was gone. The idiot had jumped out the window. Riddick leaned over the sill and looked down to see that the man had landed in a dumpster. Lucky bastard. He got up and stumbled away as quick as he could and Riddick just let him go. He was only one man and wouldn't be back any time too soon. By the time he got men together, Riddick planned to be long gone.

He turned back to Jack who was fumbling with the tie of her sweat pants. She was shaking and Riddick would smell the fresh saltiness of tears. Tears she was obviously determined to hold back.

He approached her quietly and stilled her hands. She looked up at him before quickly looking away. He pushed her hands away and gently tied the strings for her. She refused to look at him and her eyes darted around the room, although he knew she couldn't seem much in the dark.

"Jack..." she turned her head to face him but didn't look him in the eye. "Look, I need to get these two out of here... you ok for a second?"

She nodded and still wouldn't look at him.

"Ok... go to the bathroom and I'll get you cleaned up when I come back, ok?" She nodded again. "I won't be long." Again, she nodded.

Riddick sighed and watched her slowly walk out of the room. He leaned down and hefted the guy off the floor and to the door. Be got that guy out of the apartment without a problem and stashed in an alleyway, but he saw people in the halls when he went back up to the room. Shit, that would complicate things.

He stood in the kitchen and stared at the man whose neck he'd snapped when he walked in. The guy was a shitty lookout and now he didn't know what to do with him. He remembered the jackass who jumped two stories out of the window and got an idea. He dragged the man to the window and, after looking around to make sure no one was around to see, he shoved him out. The man landed in the dumpster with a 'thump' and that was that.

He shut and locked the window before headed to the bathroom where he told Jack to be, silently cursing himself. Of all the times not to lock the door. He always locked the door and the one night he didn't HAD to be that night.

He stepped into the bathroom and squinted when the lights were on too bright. He dimmed them and Jack looked up, only meeting his eyes for a second. She has a shirt on now and was sitting on the sink counter with her feet hanging over the edge. Her hands were in her lap, fidgeting nervously.

He stepped over in front of her and tilted her face up with a finger under her chin. There was a bruise forming on her left cheek and a cut from one of the man's rings. Her lip was split as well. He bent down under the sink and grabbed the first aid kit for some anti-bacterial liquid and a small bandage. She winced when he dabbed the liquid on but said nothing.

Her silence, while understandable, just served to guilt him further. He clenched his jaw and put some small strips of gauze over the cut. He cleaned the cut on her lip carefully and closed the kit.

"Jack, you ok?" he asked quietly, tilting her chin up so that she'd look at him.

"...Yea"

"There's no reason to lie," he said softly, knowing she wasn't ok.

She shrugged and gently pushed his hand away.

"Jack...did they..." he trailed off, not wanting to say and knowing she knew what he was talking about.

"No...I mean, he was going to...but he didn't..." she trailed off as well.

"Ok, let's get go bed..."

It was still early but Riddick planned to get up early the next day, pack, and get off the planet. Jack nodded but didn't move. "Jack, come on, you ok?"

"... You didn't lock the door..."

Riddick cringed but wasn't going to deny it. "Yea I know...I just forgot. That's no excuse...I'm sorry..."

She nodded and ran a hand through her hair shakily. Riddick sighed and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her too him.

Jack whimpered quietly in pain and pushed him away.

"What?"

"It's just my side..." She shrugged like it was nothing but pain was evident in her voice.

Riddick reached out to push up her shirt but she jerked away.

"Jack, I need to check it out. A rib could be broken and if it is, I have to know"

After a moment she nodded and he carefully pushed up her shirt to see the starting of a dark bruise on her left side, along with one on her stomach. He ran a hand along her side, causing her to wince a little, but he knew it wasn't broken; it was just going to leave a bruise.

"Ok...come on"

He lifted her off the counter and carried her 'princess-style' to the bedroom and set her down on her back before changing and crawling in next to her. She turned towards him, on her good side, and looked somewhere around his chest.

They stayed silent for a long time but neither slept.

"Jack, you gotta get some sleep... we're gonna get up early in the morning." Jack looked up at him questioningly and he explained. "I think we should leave and it's probably best to do it as early as we can tomorrow. I think we've stayed here just a little too long."

Jack nodded and moved closer to him, resting her forehead on his chest. Riddick rubbed her back and waited for her to fall asleep. He didn't plan on sleeping that night. He very much doubted the lone merc would come back but decided not to take a chance.

He laid awake all night with Jack in his arms. His senses were on alert but he was mentally going over what he'd have to do in the morning. He'd have Jack pack up whatever she needed and his stuff while he made plans. He needed to figure out where they'd go and his ship probably needed refueling and all that shit. He doubted Jack would want to be left alone long though, so he'd get that done just before they left and she could wait in the ship.

He spent the whole night putting together the plans in his head, absently playing with Jack's hair while he thought. Yes, it was, without a doubt, time to leave and tomorrow was the day.

* * *

**Hey, hope you liked it. I just want to say that i only used Toombs because he was an interesting character and stuff, and he'll be making another appearance...or two? who knows...Tell me what you think. NO, i don't own him. He belongs to the writters of the movie and blah, blah, blah.**

**So yea, next chp should be up soon...they're leaving on a spiffy ship and all that good stuff...whoop, whoop! haha...wow, i'm tired.**

**ok, see that spiffy little review button? Click it and tell me what you think so far, i appreciate your reviews very very much. Thanks to anyone who has reviewed and please do if you can. I like your feedback a lot. **

**Hope you enjoy.**


	8. Packing and Leaving

**Ok, sry it's kind of been a while. School and softball have been keepint me busy.**

**Sry if this chp isn't all that great. It just explains a couple things and gets them off the planet, and it forshadows a little i suppose... But anyway, i'm gonna put another chp. up tonight but right now i have hwk and i guess that's kind of important...meh**

**_The Moosey_> haha, thanks for all the reviews. Yea, i did know Nouvelle meant new. I just flipped open the dictionary and pointed at a word to use for a planet and that was the first one that sounded good. lol. How do they get intouch with Riddick?...it's explained in this chp and probably some more later. Yea, that damn age difference. I just decide to make Riddick mid 20's and then ignore the ages. After all, age it just a number. **

**Thanks to everyone for their reviews! I appreciate them all very much. keep 'em coming.**

* * *

PACKING AND LEAVING

Jack jerked awake in the early hours of the morning and sat up quickly. The pain in her side from the sudden movement assured her that everything from the night before really had happened.

"Ugh," she groaned and rubbed sleep from her eyes.

"What's the matter?" Riddick sat up just after she did and looked her over.

"Nothing... we're leaving?" She suddenly remembered him saying they'd been there too long.

"Yea, once we get everything around"

Jack nodded and turned to that her feet were over the edge of the bed.

"I'm gonna take a shower"

"Ok. I gotta make some calls to find out how much fuel the ship will need and all that good shit"

"Stayed up all night?"

"Yea"

Jack nodded. Figures he'd stay up and plan. "Can you tell me something? Honestly?"

"Course"

"How bad does my face look? I'm gonna see it in the mirror anyway, so don't lie"

Riddick sighed and tilted her chin up to inspect the side of her face. Surprisingly, it really didn't look too horrible. Now that he thought of it, he should've put some ice on it for a while, but it honestly wasn't as bad as Jack probably thought it was going to be.

"It ain't that bad"

Jack nodded and got up and went to the bathroom. Riddick sighed and shook his head. Yea, it could've been worse but it shouldn't have been there in the first place. Her once flawless skin now had a dark bruise on it, along with a small cut. It was wrong and out of place, and she'd gotten it because of him. He knew worse would've happened if he hadn't come home and that actually scared him. As much as he loved her loyalty to him, it made him nervous. He knew she'd never give him up, no matter what, and that meant he'd have to be more careful from now on. He'd never forgive himself if something worse happened to Jack because of him.

Pulling on some normal clothes, he went to the kitchen to start making some of the arrangements. The people at the docks refused to do the refueling unless he was there to pay for it in person, so that was one thing he wasn't able to scratch of his mental list of things to do. He was, however, able to get other supplies sent to the ship, like some of the food they'd need and those sorts of things. That was definitely a relief, since him and Jack having to go get it all themselves would've been a drag.

Jack came out of the bathroom about 20 minutes later in loose jeans and a dark blue t-shirt. She got some coffee and took a seat across the table from Riddick.

"What do I need to do?" she asked. Surprisingly, Jack didn't feel sorry they were leaving. Catileen was a nice enough place, but Riddick was right, it was time to move on. If mercs were coming around then, yea, they had been there too long.

"Pack up whatever you want to keep"

"Ok"

"Mind packing my shit too? I have to go into town real quick. There are a few things I couldn't get sent to the ship."

Jack nodded and Riddick was surprise, but relieved, that she wasn't going to mind being left alone. She was growing up though, and wasn't the 15 year old who'd freaked out the first time mercs tried attacking their ship. She accepted this part of his life right along with the rest of it, and she better understood it now. It wasn't something that was going to go away, not with the huge bounty on his head. He wondered what it was up to now...

Jack got up from the table and headed back to the bedroom, so Riddick took it as an ok to leave and he did, after grabbing a coat.

Riddick went into town and the first thing he did was get some new shit for the ship. He bought some up-grade parts to install once they found a spaceport to stop at. It'd been a while since they'd used the ship and, if Jack agreed to an idea Riddick got during the night, they'd be using it a lot more, so they might as well have top of the line technology. After paying for it all, he threw in some extra creds to get it sent to his ship in a couple hours.

He was heading to find a Cred Machine that wasn't busy, so he could do some things with his account, when he passed a store with new laptops in a window display. _'Perfect...'_

He went in and bought one that was the same as the displayed one. After purchasing it, he went right back to the apartment. That would take care of what he wanted to do, and took less than half the time.

* * *

Once Riddick left, Jack found their bags and tossed them on the bed. She threw in their clothes, not bothering to properly fold them and be neat because they'd just be unpacking them in the not-too-distant future. Then came all their other things, like toothbrushes, hair brushes (for her, obviously not for Riddick) and things like that. She tossed some books into her bag and some movies and a few more random things she had lying around. After double-checking what she had in the bag, she zipped it up and put it out in the hall. She left Riddick's where it was, in case he wanted something she didn't grab. 

She grabbed a small bag out of her large duffle and went to the bathroom. Riddick had been right when he said the bruise wasn't too bad. Honestly, she'd been expecting a whole lot worse. It still looked pretty bad though, so she went about covering it up the best she could with some make-up. You could still tell it was there when she finished, but it wasn't as pronounced.

She went back to the kitchen, satisfied that she was good to go, and made a sandwich since she hadn't really eaten breakfast. She was putting everything away when the sound of a key in the lock was heard and then Riddick walked in. She turned and gave him a smile before turning back to her sandwich.

"Got something for ya," Riddick said, hanging his coat on the back of a chair.

Jack turned at that and saw a plain brown boxin his hand. She frowned in thought. It wasn't her birthday, that wasn't for a few weeks, so she didn't know what he'd be getting her or why.

"Um...ok..."

She eyed it curiously as he brought it over and handed it to her. She raised an eyebrow at him and he just shrugged and nodded for her to open it. She ripped the tape on one end and slid something out of the protective Styrofoam surrounding it.She set the box on the counter and looked at what she held in her hands. It was a thin, new silver laptop. She smiled up at Riddick with gratitude. She hadn't had one for quite a while now and had always meant to get another one, but never had for some reason.

"Thought you'd be able to use it," Riddick said quietly.

"Yea, thanks"

He nodded and gave her a careful, one-armed hug and a lingering kiss on her forehead. He stepped back after a moment and remembered what he was going to ask, getting his mind back on track and off of kissing her somewhere else.

"uh...Got everything ready?"

"Yea, I think so. I left your bag out incase I forgot something..."

She followed Riddick back to the room and stood in the doorway while he looked through his bag. He nodded with a small smirk when he found what she forgot, almost as if he'd expected her to forget it. He went back to the closet and pulled up a loose floorboard in the back corner, to get out a small box that had an extra gun and bullets. Riddick was more of a knife man himself, but had a few guns. He'd taught Jack how to aim properly, and they had two in the apartment. One was in the drawer of the bedside table, and the other in the closet. Jack had forgotten the later of the two.

Riddick put the small box in his bag before zipping it up and putting it with Jack's.

"Go finish that sandwich, and then we're outta here ok?"

Jack nodded and went back to her food. While she ate, she wondered where they were going to go. She didn't mind traveling and going from place to place, she liked it actually. When she was a kid she'd always wanted to travel the universe and see what there was to see, which was why she'd taken to sneaking onto ships after running away from her dad.

She didn't mind new places, and had never had a problem meeting new people when they settled in. Leaving old friends wasn't particularly fun, but she told the people she knew well that she moved around a lot. That way they wouldn't be surprised when they got her e-mail that she'd had to leave abruptly. She always made up some sort of story, once they were off-planet, and sent it to whomever she thought might miss her so that they wouldn't put out an alert that she was missing.

"Ready?" Riddick asked once he saw that Jack was done.

"Yea"

They grabbed their bags and were at the docks 30 minutes later. They'd barely walked up the ramp into the cargo hold when the new parts for the ship showed up. Riddick told them where to put it before following Jack up the steps and down the hall to their room to put their bags away.

"Ok, I gotta go get the refueling taken care of. Some people might show up while I'm gone with the food and shit. Just have them load it with the other stuff and then start putting some things away, ok?" Riddick explained, heading down the ramp once they were back in the cargo area.

"Yea"

Jack watched him leave and no sooner had he slipped out of sight and some men showed up with a shipment of crates. They got everything unloaded and Jack started rummaging through them. The crates were sloppily labeled, so reading what was in them was somewhat challenging, but once she figured it out she started taking food up to the kitchen area and putting it away in cupboards or the refrigerator.

Riddick came back when she had almost everything put away, and he helped her with the last few crates. By the time they were finished, the ship was fueled up and they were ready to go. All they needed to do was start her up and wait for the tower to give them clearance. That could take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours, depending on how busy the lanes were.

"Jack, grab your computer and bring it up front with us. I need you to change around my account, k?"

Jack nodded and grabbed her laptop before going up to the front with Riddick and sitting in the co-pilot seat. "What planet do you want the accessing on?"

"Just put it on private user now. You got that thing, so that works just as good, if not better."

"Ok, but what planet do you want it to say your on for people?"

"It's freelancing. Tell them to leave the info and I'll get back to them"

"But, Riddick, what..."

"I'll explain later, Jack. Just do it, huh?"

"Sure"

Jack shrugged and did what she was told, knowing he had his reasons. Once word of his 'work' had gotten around, Riddick didn't need to go look for jobs anymore. Now he had a account set up that was little more than an e-mail account. People that had need of his 'service' sent him what they needed done and how much they were willing to pay. Riddick got back to whomever he chose and got further information on what he'd have to do and sometimes negotiated the price. Once he figured out who he had to X-out, he did the job and collected the money. Simple as that, basically. He'd turned jobs down before because he'd found out that in entailed killing whole families. He stoutly refused to kill kids and women, and that had gotten a few people mad at him but hadn't caused any real problems yet.

Jack changed the information in the account and then changed the password. She changed the password to his bank account too, after rewiring it to be accessible from their computer.

'_Mr. Richardson, you are cleared for the take-off of the Eclipse. Have a safe flight, and we hope you enjoyed your time here.' _A voice said over the com speakers.

Riddick flipped some switches and a few minutes later they were taking off into space, the force of it pushing them back in their seats. Once they were ascended, the cabin pressurized and everything felt normal. Jack clicked the laptop shut and set it aside to stare out at the stars. She always liked looking at them; there were so many. It was calming somehow and it never really seemed to get boring because you certainly never saw the same thing twice.

Jack gazed out at them in fascination for a while, until she felt Riddick's eyes on her. She turned and met his eyes.

"What?"

"Nothing...you ok?"

"Sure. Why?" She shrugged it off and ignored that fact that he could see through the half-lie.

"We never really talked about last night," Riddick said quietly. They probably should, he knew, since it was going to bug her.

"There's not a whole lot to talk about"

Riddick raised an eyebrow at her but let it slide. He'd let her think about whatever she was thinking about alone for a while, but he'd bring it up again if she didn't. He liked knowing what was going on around him and it'd eat at him knowing something was wrong with her that she wasn't talking about. She already was, but he pretty much knew what that was all about. Or at least he thought it did.

Jack sighed and tucked her legs under her. She didn't like lying to Riddick, but it wasn't really a lie. She couldn't exactly put her finger on what was wrong. Yea, last night had obviously scared her, but there was something else about it... Something that bugged her deeper than those men themselves. Whatever it was nagged at her and seemed just out of her mind's reach. She'd figure it out soon though and then she'd talk about it.

* * *

**Eh, there ya go. Hope u liked it. I'm gonna put the next Chp. up 2night.**

**R and R**


	9. Not Coming Back

**HAHA, ooook...sry i didn't update last night. See, i intended to...but i had a stupid moment. I uploaded the chp but then i just never posted it...so yea, i dunno what i was thinking, but w/e...it's all good. Here it is...be warned...it's sort of short, i know short chapters suck but i'm working on the next one. I have an interesting idea and we'll just have to see how it goes...heehee**

**Thanks to every1 for their review, i love 'em. Thank you, thank you.**

**_The Moosey >_ Patience, patience, further reactions are in this chp. lol...course it's my fault that u didn't know that cuz i didn't post. doh!...**

**Enjoy**

* * *

NOT COMING BACK

The rest of the afternoon was spent getting things moved around and packed away where they belonged. That was one thing Jack didn't like about traveling, the tedium in the beginning, but other than that she liked being in the ship. The only good thing was that all the moving around and putting away kept her busy. A few hours later, all that was left to do was strap down the crates of ship parts, which Riddick did while Jack sent some messages to friends. She told them she'd gotten a job offer from an Uncle and had to leave right away because they needed the person right away and they'd hire someone else if she didn't show. It wasn't the best story, but it didn't really matter because she'd probably never see the people again.

When she finished sending everything out, Riddick was in the kitchen making something for dinner.

"What're you making?"

"Soup. It's quick and easy, and I'm hungry."

Jack nodded and got out bowls and spoons. A few minutes later they were sitting at the small round table with bowls of steaming soup. They ate quickly and quietly and Jack checked her watch when she was done to find that, to her surprise, it was pretty late.

"I think I'm just gonna go to bed..." she said, heading down the hall to the bedroom.

"Ok, I'll be there in a little bit. I have to make sure the course is set for the night"

Jack nodded and walked down the hall and into their room. She instinctively went to the closet before remembering her things were in her bag. She dug around in it and found a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt to wear. After changing, she climbed into bed and laid on her back, staring up at the ceiling. Her body was tired but her mind was still in full swing, thinking about this and that while she tried to relax.

She stared hard at the ceiling and frowned at it, as though it were the cause of her problems. It wasn't though. Stupid bastards who only wanted a payday were her problem. She wished people knew the side of Riddick that she knew. The side of him that was a caring friend, not a killer. She was sure the universe would be astounded to find out that he cared about someone else and protected them. She wished they really knew him, but they never would because the only thing they ever heard about him was that he was a dangerous monster who should be thrown away in a dark slam and never thought of again.

Jack knew he wasn't a monster. A monster wouldn't have saved her as many times as Riddick had. He was always there when she needed him and had never hurt her; ever. He could easily break her in half if he wanted to, but he wouldn't. He never would, and that made him special. Most guys she'd been around in her life would take advantage of her the first chance they got...

_'That's it...'_

Jack's mind suddenly grasped the connection of what was bothering her when an arm wrapped around her waist. Snapping her eyes back open, she gasped in surprise and bolted up right and pushed away from whoever it was, before she registered that it was just Riddick.

"What?" He asked in surprise, sitting back up.

"Uh...nothing..." Jack ran her hand over her face and shook her head. She must've been pretty out of it to freak out that much. But then again, now wasn't the time she wanted people sneaking up on her in the dark. _'He wasn't sneaking up on you, idiot, he just thought you were asleep...now what I was I thinking a second ago...'_

"You sure?" Riddick's voice broke into her thoughts and a small part of her grew frustrated and just wanted him to shut up to let her think for a minute, but she knew he was just worried, and whatever thought had come to her was gone now anyway.

"Yea, I was just thinking and you sca –uh, surprised me," Jack didn't want to say he scared. He didn't and never had.

"Ok...so you're ok?"

"Yea, fine," she nodded and laid back down on her back, desperately raking her mind for the thought.

She didn't know how long she laid there, desperately thinking, but Riddick interrupted her again.

"Gonna sleep anytime soon?"

"Dunno," she shrugged, and realized he wasn't touching her. Did he think that's what scared her? It wasn't... _'Or was it?...oh, shut up...'_

Jack sighed in frustration with herself and rolled on her good side to face him. Her eyes met his and he was looking at her questioningly, and she knew he wanted in her head. He always wanted to know what was going on. She just shrugged and closed her eyes. He still wasn't touching her but she didn't do anything, unable to decide if she wanted him to or not. It didn't matter anyway, as she soon drifted to sleep.

Jack tossed and turned in her sleep, mumbling incoherent words, causing Riddick to wake up. He watched her for a minute to see if she'd stop but gently shook her awake when she didn't. She woke with a start and tried to push away from him, saying something about how she was sorry for something.

"Jack...Jack, shhh...it's just me..." he said quietly, trying to still her hands that pushed at his arms. "Jack, come on...it's just me..."

She stopped after a moment and looked at him like she was just now seeing him. She blinked a few times and wiped at her cheek with her hand to find that a few tears had leaked from her eyes. She swallowed and sighed deeply before moving closer to him, silently asking for a hug. Riddick wrapped his arms around her and held her while she shook silently, lightly rubbing her back. He'd been expecting something like this to happen sooner or later, and, now that he thought about it, he was surprised it hadn't happened the night before.

Jack slowly began to relax in his arms, but she could still remember her dream. It made the nagging in the back of her mind as clear as day and she wondered why she hadn't realized it immediately.

She pushed back from him and rested her head on her own pillow.

"Bad dream?" Riddick asked, even though it was obvious, while wiping away a couple tears that had trickled slowly from her eyes.

"Yea..." she hesitated and sighed. She saw the connection now, so it was only fair to tell him. "...It...I think they reminded me of my dad...and his friends..."

Riddick frowned but recognition soon dawned on him. Of course it would remind her of that, the situations being somewhat similar.

"Is that stupid?"

"No," he answered quickly. "It's not stupid, but your dad can't hurt you now Jack, you know that right?"

Jack nodded half-heartedly. She did for the most part, but you never really know. "Yea..."

"No, Jack...he can't."

"Well I know he's not going to...but he could...I mean...I don't know"

"No, Jack, I mean it. He can't, unless you believe in ghosts or something," Riddick said plainly. She knew that, didn't she?

"What?"

"What do you mean, what? Your dad's somewhere where there is no coming back"

"Huh?"

"Didn't I tell you?"

"Tell me what!" Jack asked anxiously, wondering exactly where this was going. Could he be saying...

"Remember when I left New Mecca for about two weeks after we'd been there for a while?"

"Yea, I thought you left"

"Yea...I went back to Old Earth and, uh, paid your dad a little visit. After all the shit he put you through after your mom died, I couldn't let him live. Found where some of his punk-ass friends were, the ones who got drunk and touched you, got rid of them too," Riddick explained levelly and carefully. All this time he just thought she knew, so now he didn't know what she'd think. Surely she wouldn't be mad.

Jack took it in and blinked a few times. All this time she'd been worried about it and letting it bother her, and the man who was responsible for it was dead.

"You're not mad are you?" Riddick asked after a few awkward moments in which Jack said nothing.

Mad? Was he insane!

"No! Hell no...I... I guess I'm just surprised..."

"All this time you were worried he couldcome back or something, huh?"

"Yea"

"See, if I'd known that I would've told you a long time ago. I thought it was just bad memories"

"Well it was, but I always wondered 'what if?'"

"Yea, sorry. But he can't hurt you now, so it's fine...and you ain't gotta worry about those mercs either"

"But the one got away..."

"Yea I know, but we're long gone now and he'll have no idea where we are, ok? He has to get over a 2-story drop and get a new crew together, so he's slowed down a little. He ain't gonna hurt you now..."

Jack nodded and shivered a little, so she pulled the covers up more, even though she wasn't shivering from the cold.

"You're ok now, I got you," Riddick said earnestly, brushing some stray hair from her face.

"Yea, I know... it's just... maybe I could've done something more, ya know? To get away..." she shrugged, suddenly feeling lame for not trying more.

"Uh-uh. Jack, you survived, alright? That's more than some people can say when mercs are after them. You did fine. There was three of them and there wasn't much else you could do but get out with your life, and you did. Mercs are fucking bastards, but even I have to admit some of 'em are pretty good. An unlucky few have gotten me, after all," He finished cockily, trying to lighten the mood just a little.

Jack nodded and snuggled closer, breathing in his scent deeply. It was a calming scent to her, and comforting. He smelled distinctly male, musky but clean. She loved how he smelled.

Jack soon relaxed, nestled comfortably in Riddick's strong, protecting arms. Sleep overcame her and this time there were no visions of mercs with a voice like her father, or of her dad's old drunk friends trying to do the same things the mercs had. Usually she liked to dream, but that night she dreamt of nothing and was glad to have a good nights rest. The fear of her past was gone and she knew it, so now she could move on and think of new things; more interesting things...

* * *

**Well, there u have it. Sry i didn't get it up last night...and sry it's kindda short. Anywho, i've got an idea so i'll have to see how it starts working out...heehee, i'll post soon, i pormise**

**R and R**


	10. Mystery Man

**First of all, i just wanna say that I KNOWthis one is a short chap and i'm sorry, but i had to put this up to get some things started. More things are gonna start coming into play, and some of it's starting to start here (if that makes sense...)**

**Hope you enjoy, and let me know if it's confusing...i typed this up kind of quick**

* * *

'MYSTERY MAN'

An aging man sat behind his large oak desk, waiting for a report that should be there soon. It was supposed to be there an hour ago, but there had been some kind of delay. The man ran a calloused hand over his head. Even now he always thought for a moment that he'd feel hair on the top of his head, but it'd been years since he had. All that was left of his once dark hair was some gray and black on the sides.

His body had changed over the years as well. He glanced at the picture of himself years ago, a well-built man in his army uniform, and smiled. Those were the 'good ole days.' Age had started taking its toll and he'd gained a few wrinkles over the years. He'd lost a bit of muscle and had to start being careful or else he was going to start developing a gut. He considered himself pretty fit though, at least more so than some of his friends. Age was being nice to him and he hoped it would continue to do so.

He supposed his luck was due to the fact that he still had a dream. Most men his age had achieved their goal in life and were now working only to make some more money before they retired. Heck, some of his friends had stopped working already because they'd hit it big and had enough money to last them. He, on the other hand, was still working on what he wanted and he refused to give up. His goal was tougher and much more complex than any other man's goal that he knew of. His goal _was_ a man. A man he hadn't seen in person for quite some time...a man he was sure hated him...

The man looked at another framed picture on his desk. This picture was of him, about ten years ago, with the man that was his goal. It was a younger version of the man, making him in his later teens, but he still had the appearance of a man. The boy had hit his growth spurt early in life and was already 6'0" and a little upwards of 200 pounds, already bigger than the fully grown man he stood with. No smile decorated the young man's face, yet this expression wasn't unhappy. It was merely unsure, yet intimidating to most.

The older man tore his eyes away from the picture and they landed on the wall opposite his desk. That plain white wall was littered with the accomplished man's achievements, along with a few pictures. There was a M.D. and a Psy.D hanging there, as well as a few medals of Honor and other certificates. Most people would be proud of that, and he was. Most people would also be satisfied, but he wasn't. He wanted to do one last thing before he quit working and took it easy for the rest of his years. He needed to do one more thing before he could be at ease. If it was the last thing he did, he had to do this.

He turned his gaze to the wall to the left of his desk. It was covered with newspaper clippings, photos, maps, and charts. Things were circled, crossed off, and jotted down on various pieces of paper. There were few who understood what everything meant, and none more so than he. It looked cluttered and jumbled, but he knew what everything meant and what things were significant.

* * *

Lieutenant Patterson, a young man with a promising military intelligence future, strode purposefully down the hall long, quiet hall. He stopped in front of the last door on the left and straightened his jacket before knocking. 

"Come in," came a low, slightly muffled voice from inside.

He opened the door and stepped in briskly. He turned to face the man behind the large oak desk. He was an older man, but not old. He had the hardened face of a man who had seen many things in his life, but there was still certain warmth to his features that was appealing. He'd lost the hair on the top of his head, but dark, graying hair remained around the edges. He still looked good in his age. He'd maintained most of his build, and he stood proud at 5'9". As it was now, he was sitting straight in his chair, his hands folded patiently on the desk in front of him.

"Colonel," The young man said respectfully, saluting quickly.

"The report is here?"

"Yes, sir. The papers are on their way but we didn't want to keep you waiting, sir."

"Well, do tell then"

"Well, it looks like he's left Catileen, sir"

"Left?"

"That's right, sir. The ship you suspected to be his left the docks a little after noon. No one's sure why, but there are rumors, sir..."

"Of?"

"It's been reported that a merc ship landed on Catileen a few days ago, sir. That's not official, but it's just reported that it looked like a merc ship and a rag-tag crew of three was on it."

"Well, if it looks like a merc and smells like a merc..." the man shook his head and then chuckled. "Only three? Bet that was a field day...Work on tracking down these mercs, if they're still alive. Damn mercs...dismissed Lieutenant. Get the official papers to me as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir," The man saluted and left quietly.

Damn mercs, indeed. They'd messed things up more than once. All they want is a payday and they don't care how they get it. _'The creed is greed,' _he thought bitterly. They'd been close this time, so close. They'd been pretty positive they knew where he was and now he'd left the planet. Now came the hard part, again, trying to find out where he'd end up. This was the part he hated. The waiting...the wondering if you'll miss something and always worrying that, if you do, you'll never pick up the trail again. The waiting was the worst, but he could do it. He had a lot of patience...always had...

* * *

**Well, there ya go. yea, like a said b4, i know it's short, but i'm working on the next chp. **

**Tell me what you think of this chp. though. Was it confusing? i hope not...anywho, i hoped you like it, so let me know. Let me know if it's sounding interesting...**


	11. If Only

**Sorry that it's sort of been a while. Besides school, now i have softball so that keeps me busy. bleh, anywho, this chapter is longer than some of my other chapters so yea...i was gonna make it 2 chapters, but u all seem to like longer chapters so i made it one. Happy? haha, anyway...hope u enjoy.**

**_TheMoosey:_ Yea, 200lb teen...but i don't mean like 12 or 13. i'm talking like 17 or something... not too out there, i have 16 year old guy friends who are 6'2" and 220...anyway... just in case i made it sound like a young teen, i didn't mean to cuz it isn't. And it's not fat 200lbs...it**

**Enjoy**

* * *

IF ONLY...

Jack slowly walked the halls of the ship, letting her feet wander around. She was pretty bored and Riddick was busy at the moment. They were going to stop at a space port in a few hours and Riddick was getting some parts and things ready in the cargo bay so he'd be able to get right to work when they landed.

The past few days hadn't been extremely exciting, but she hadn't expected them to be. The first few days up were always slow because it was mostly making sure everything was where is was supposed to be and making sure everything worked properly. The ship was big, though, so, now that they were done checking up on everything, they'd be able to do more of whatever they wanted. They had a room that was rather like a living room, with a couch and chair and a vid, and quite a few movies to watch.

Jack walked down the hall from the kitchen to this room and sat down in front of the little case that held the movies. She looked through them and decided she definitely had to up the collection. Maybe that's what she'd do with some of the free time she'd have while Riddick worked. She might be a good car mechanic, but cars were much different than a spaceship, so she'd never been too great with the ship. Riddick had taught her some simple things and said he'd show her more sometime, but Jack had the feeling that he wanted to get this stuff done as quickly as possible so she didn't want to slow him down.

Riddick still hadn't told her exactly where he planned on going, maybe he wasn't even sure yet.

"Jack!...yo, Jack, where are you?..."

Jack turned when she heard Riddick's deep voice calling through the ship.

"In here!" Jack called back, getting up and walking to the open doorway.

She all but ran into Riddick, stopping herself just in time as she stepped out of the room.

"Whoa, you ready to go up front? We're landing in a little bit."

"Yep, after you"

Riddick nodded and led the way up to the front of the ship. Jack couldn't help but check him out from behind. He had a great butt, nice and tight, and his gait was strong and confident and, well, damn sexy. '_Ok, stop looking now...'_

Jack tore her eyes away and they were soon in the cockpit, strapping into their seats. Riddick made all the preparations for landing and when they were close to the space station, a voice came over the com speakers.

'_Eclipse, please state the length and purpose of your stay,' _a male voice requested.

"We're stopping to make some repairs. It should only take a few days."

_'Alright... dock 46 has just been vacated; please direct yourself there. Enjoy your stay.' _The man concluded with disinterest before closing the signal.

After flipping a few switches, Riddick was expertly steering their ship into a perfect landing.

> -> -> ->

"What're you gonna do while I'm working?" Riddick asked as he lowered the ramp in the cargo bay. They'd landed and were stable and Riddick wanted to get right to work.

"Just gonna go look around the shops and whatnot in a little bit"

"Alright"

"I'm just going to go change and then I'm gonna go, ok?"

"Yea, knock yourself out"

Jack went back up the stairs and headed towards their room while Riddick started getting out tools and whatever else he was going to need. Jack doubted it would take him long since he was sure to know pretty much exactly what he was doing. He always did, and Jack wondered if there was anything he really couldn't do. '_Probably not...'_

She quickly changed into some low-riding khaki cargo pants and gray beater. She brushed through her thick, straight dark hair and pulled it up into a messy bun before grabbing her wallet and heading down the hall back to the cargo hold.

She didn't see Riddick as first, but, after going down the steps and peering around, she saw his legs sticking out from under some sort of console and could hear the light clinking of something. She momentarily entertained the idea of sneaking up on him before remembering that he'd already know she was there. He always did.

"Hey, I'm gonna get going now, ok?"

"Sure...you ok going alone?" he asked, moving out from what he was working on to look at her seriously.

"Yea, it's fine"

"Ok... see you later then."

"Yea, later. I'll probably only be an hour or two"

Riddick watched Jack walk away and his eyes drifted to watch her ass on their own accord. Once she was almost out of site he turned away and shook his head to clear it of some thoughts that had started stirring up. He had to concentrate on installing the parts. The faster he worked, the sooner he could get done and do something with Jack. They hadn't been able to do much the past few days, since they'd both been occupied with checking everything and making sure everything was ok. If anything was wrong or missing, it'd be best to know before they got to the space station so they could get it fixed then, rather than find out about it later and make an unnecessary stop. With that in mind, he got to work, thinking maybe he'd go find Jack down by the shops later if he got done earlier than planned. He hardly ever went shopping with her but it proved fun sometimes.

Jack walked off towards some shops, wanting to look around and remembering to look for some movies. She looked up and smiled. This station, like most new ones, had a simulated sky to make it look natural. Clouds and sun during the day, and stars at night. Looking back to where she was going, she saw a sign for a movie store, but decided to look around at some of the little booths out in the open first.

* * *

It was mid afternoon and a young 'sleeper' sat at a table of an outside café. He'd recently gotten word that he had to start doing some reconnaissance, but he was sure he had time to eat lunch first. He'd been at the same damn station for over a year now and nothing note-worthy had happened. It was his first assignment and he'd been pumped for it at first. 

_'Lay low and always be on the watch. We'll call you if we think **he** is close.' _

Those had been his orders and he'd been sure that meant his superiors thought _he_ would be coming around soon. He hadn't known at the time that the powers that be had put 'sleepers' at all space stations in the relative area of the base, which meant there were 14 sleepers in the closest 12 stations.

He was not especially important, this sleeper, but he was willing to do his job. This is what he'd signed up for when he joined the army and he'd volunteered for this particular mission. A small mission that one man had started up from nothing had become a whole special operation once the details and idea had gotten to the right people. Inspired by one man on the loose and started by a man who didn't want to give up; that's what it was.

When his food came, Shane gave the older waitress a gracious smile and dug in. As he ate he watched the people that passed this way and that by him. He always watched, as was his job, but he paid close attention today because of the call he'd gotten. It could be a false alarm...or it could be for real. You always have to be prepared.

Shane was half way through his meal when he spotted someone that made him do a double take. Not because it was the person he was looking for, but because this particular person was extremely attractive. A young woman, maybe 19 or 20, walked past and stopped and one of the open booths to look at whatever was being sold. She talked quietly with the man and smiled. Oh man, her smile was radiating and made her only more beautiful.

He ran a hand over his short blonde hair and would have very much liked to go talk to her and see what would happen. He was a good-looking young man, tall and well built, so maybe she'd be interested. The only problem was that he was 'on the job,' so all he could do was look, so look he did. It wouldn't hurt anyone for him to just watch her; it wasn't against the law.

The young woman walked across the street, away from him, and his eyes were glued to her as she went. Her pants were loose but fit snugly around her perfectly sized hips, which swayed in a sexy way that seemed very unintentional. She walked into a shop across the street and he could still see her through the window. She turned and he got a perfect profile view of her body. She was lean, probably somewhere close to 130 pounds, and had a great body. He could imagine how she'd feel, firm but soft in all the right places.

He glanced up to see what shop she was in. It was a movie store. No reason not to stop in...maybe talk to her for a minute or something...

He glanced back to her and she was facing the window now, stray hairs hanging loosely around her soft oval face. Yea, there was no harm in going in there for a minute. He wasn't doing anything wrong and he'd go work on the recon as soon as he left the shop.

The waitress would know to charge his meal to him, so he pushed his chair back to get up. The only problem was that his chair barely moved before hitting something.

"Oh, excuse me, I didn't mean to..." he stopped his apology for hitting the person when he felt a thin piece of cool metal on the back of his neck.

"Don't even think about going into that shop," a dangerous voice growled in his ear. "Don't even look at her that way again, hear me?"

Shane nodded and the metal that had been a knife was gone. He swallowed and turned around to see who it was, but the man was gone. Shane turned abruptly to scan the area, and the only thing suspicious he saw was a large man dressed in dark clothes walking away through the crowd swiftly.

'_Holy shit...was that...? No, that couldn't be...why would he care about that girl?...unless he...they...no way!...but they could...oh whoa, I gotta call this in...'_

Scattered thoughts raced through Shane's head but he knew he had to get back to his apartment and call headquarters. He hurried home, hoping this was what he thought it was. If it was, his boss would absolutely love him.

* * *

Jack spent more time at the stores than she'd meant to because she wanted to get something, but wasn't too worried about it. The lights that gave the station an earthly night and day were just staring to dim, so it wasn't too late but she headed straight home anyway. 

The day had been pretty enjoyable and she'd gotten some movies and a few other things. The station was really pretty nice and she decided she'd go looking around again the next day since Riddick would probably just be working on the ship again. Maybe she'd be able to get him to look around with her, but she doubted it.

She walked onto the ship and up the steps with her two bags. She dropped the one with some movie in the living room and put the other one in the bedroom, grabbing something out of it before going to look for Riddick.

She ended up finding him in the kitchen with his back turned to her.

"Hey"

"Hey," he responded curtly. "How'd it go?"

"Fine"

He nodded and turned half towards her, looking at her from the corner of his eyes. "You have any idea someone was watching you today?"

"Huh?"

"Did you know someone was watching you today?" he repeated, slower this time.

"Where you? Did you follow me to keep tabs on more or something?" Jack asked, annoyed at the thought.

"No. I went out and I saw you... also saw some guy watching you like a fucking piece of meat," Riddick snarled, more at the idea of someone looking at her that way that at Jack herself.

"Ok...so?"

"So?" Riddick repeated loudly. This time some of his anger _was_ directed at her. "So he had his eyes all over you! That doesn't bother you?"

"Well it's nothing new..."

"What?"

"What? People look, Riddick, what do you want me to say? I can't help it," Jack stated, angry and confused. What was he getting at?

"So guys just look at you like that and you don't care?" Riddick asked quietly, turning to face her completely now.

"Oh yea, Riddick, I love it when guys have their eyes glued to my ass or something. That just makes my day," Jack answered flippantly.

Riddick either didn't catch the sarcasm or wasn't in the mood for games.

"Oh you do, do you?" He snarled out, stepping towards Jack angrily.

"No," Jack said quickly, stepping back. What the hell was his problem? "But there's nothing I can do about it. If people wanna look then they're gonna look. It's not like I run off with any guy who checks me out."

Riddick remained silent, staring at her long and hard.

"You thought I did, didn't you?" Jack said suddenly. "You thought I'd just run off with whatever guy you're talking about because he thought I looked good...didn't you?" Jack prodded, sounding more accusing as she continued.

Riddick winced at the accusation but didn't deny it. That thought had briefly entered his mind before he brushed it aside, knowing Jack wouldn't do something like that. All he'd wanted to know when she walked in was if she knew there were guys looking at her like that. Apparently that was a stupid question and she knew perfectly well how guys looked at her. Did she know how he looked at her? _'...Don't go there, ass, this isn't the time or place to wonder that...'_

He looked down at her, anger etched on her face. Anger at him. How had he let this conversation turn into this? It was probably because he hadn't quite gotten over the anger of seeing someone look at Jack like that so openly. He'd probably projected the anger at Jack. '_Shit'_

"Look, Jack, it's not..."

"Did you, or didn't you," Jack interrupted him, speaking quietly and calmly but angrily.

He couldn't lie to her. She already knew. The look on his face when she'd first accused him of it had probably told her everything she wanted to know. He hadn't been able to hide the surprise of her saying it quickly enough.

"I did, but Jack"

"You...what...ugh!..."

"No, Jack..."

"Fuck you!" she spat, shoving the thing in her hand into his chest.

He grabbed it and watched her storm off down the hall. Shit, he really had to fix this.

He heard the bedroom door snap shut and sighed, looking down at what she'd shoved into his hand. It was a book; _The Count of Monte Cristo._ He'd watched the movie quite a while ago with Jack and he'd mentioned that he'd like to read the book. He liked movies and all, but he also liked books and had ever since he was a kid. He had tried to find it in a book store where they'd been living but they didn't have it because it was really old and Jack hadn't been able to find it either. This station must've had a classic bookstore or something and that explained where Jack had gone after the movie store and the booths he'd seen her at. That served to guilt him even more.

_'Good job, ass hole...fuck, I am stupid... gonna have fun fixing this one...'_

Riddick set the book down on the counter and walked down the hall silently. He stopped and the door and hesitated before just walking in without asking. Jack was sitting on the floor by the closet with her knees drawn up to her chest and her arms crossed over her knees with her chin resting on them. She looked up when he stepped in and he could see trails where tears had streaked down her cheeks.

He just stared at her for a minute, hating himself for being the cause of her tears. He'd never wanted to do that, make her cry. "Jack..." he started, stepping towards her.

"Don't," She said quietly and he stopped right beside her.

"Just let me tell you what I meant," he pleaded, trying not to sound as desperate as he felt. All he could keep thinking was that he might have, in his moment of stupidity, lost her. He wouldn't be able to stand that.

"What you meant! Riddick, you practically called me a whore! You thought I ran off with some guy I didn't even know!" She spat, lowering her legs and shifting to look up at him, glaring through her tears.

"Jack, I didn't mean that. I mean... the thought came up for a second but, Jack, I know you're not like that"

"How could you even think that?" Jack asked quietly. "After everything that's happened and...and you know I'd never...don't you?"

"Course I do, Jack..." He sighed and crouched down next to her, not making a move to touch her. "It's just...I didn't really think you did but then you accused me of it and I was just surprised... fuck, I dunno. You just gotta know I never really thought you did...God, Jack, I'm sorry..."

Riddick couldn't really think of how to explain. He couldn't even think of the words to tell her how ashamed he was that the thought came up at all. He turned and leaned up against the wall next to her, stretching his legs out, and sighed. He'd make it up to her somehow, no matter what it took. He couldn't loose her.

"How long are you going to hate me?" He asked, trying to see how deep he was in.

"I don't hate you," Jack mumbled after a minute. "I just think you're stupid right now."

Riddick nodded and then chuckled softly. "Yea... I'm stupid for thinking you'd be into that guy. Looked like a punk to me...not your type."

Jack laughed a little, loving him for people able to make her feel better, even if she did have a right to be mad at him. "And how would you know what my type is?"

Riddick shrugged and looked down at her, glad she was still talking to him and not storming out on him or something. She looked up and met his eyes. She still had wet trails on her face. He gently wiped them away with his thumb and held her chin to keep her head tilted up at him. Her bruise was all but completely gone and there was just a small light mark on her cheek from the cut now that the small scab was gone.

"Really Jack, I'm sorry..."

Jack nodded. She could tell he was, but there seemed to be something else he wanted to say. She stayed silent and unmoving, waiting for him to come out with it.

"I don't want to lose you...especially over me thinking something stupid," he finished quietly.

Jack was taken aback by that. Had he thought she was going to leave? She wasn't...she hadn't even considered it. She couldn't see herself ever leaving.

"I'm not going anywhere, I want to be here with you" She assured him with a small smiled.

"Good, cuz I want you right here"

Jack smiled just as her stomach growled. Riddick let go of her chin when he heard it and shifted.

"I'll make dinner," Jack offered, getting up after a moment and walking out.

Jack walked to the kitchen and thought over what Riddick had said. He didn't want to lose her...that just made her love him more. She known that her crush on Riddick had grown over the years, but, with the words he'd just said to her, something deeper had grown. She'd always been scared of the idea of having a more intimate relationship with him, but suddenly that fear was quieted and now she felt something else; a longing. _'Oh man, if only you knew what I really meant when I said I wanted to stay with you... if only you meant that you wanted me in a different way...'_

Jack sighed and started getting stuff out for dinner.

Riddick stayed seated on the bedroom floor for a few more minutes, thinking things over. Even though Jack said she didn't hate him, she still had to be angry with him. He'd make it up to her somehow to show her how sorry he really was.

At least she didn't hate him and want to leave. That thought was reassuring. She'd said she wasn't going anywhere and that was calming. The idea occurred to him that she might leave someday, if she ever met a guy and married him or something. That thought was extremely unsettling and he didn't know what he'd do if that ever happened. _'Jack, if only you meant that you wanted to be with me in a different way, that'd make this all easier... if only you knew how much I want you...would you still want to stay if you knew?...'_

Riddick sighed and hauled himself up to go help Jack make something to eat. He stood in the doorway of the kitchen and watched her for a while. '_Beautiful...'_

He cleared his throat to make his presence known after a few minutes and walked into help her.

"Thanks for the book, by the way"

"Yea, I saw it in the book store and thought you'd like it"

Riddick nodded and gave her a small but meaningful hug from behind, planting a small kiss on the top of her head. Jack smiled and inwardly frowned when he let her go.

'_If only you knew...'_

* * *

**Well hope you liked it. Review to let me know what you think...ya kow, just use that nifty little button down there. Next chp. should be soon. **

**R and R**


	12. Inside the Office and Mind of Colonel Na...

**Hey All. It's kind of been a while, sorry about that but i've been crazy busy the last couple days. the weekend is coming soon and so is Spring Break (whoop!) so i'll be updating more often soon. Sweet stuff, huh? **

**Thanks for all the reviews and keep it up, please. I apprecaiate them alot and it's great motivation to keep writing.**

**_TheMoosey > _yea, Jack was being accusing because she figured out that Riddick had thought she went off with Shane and blah blah blah, she wan't happy.**

* * *

_:FYI – Nathaniel Shavers is the 'mystery guy' from chap 10. Just thought I'd say that now so there's no confusion...at least HOPEFULLY there's no confusion._

INSIDE THE OFFICE AND MEMORY OF COLONEL NATHANIEL SHAVERS

The Colonel could remember that year like it was just last week. It was almost 10 years ago now, but it was engraved in his mind as a reminder. A reminder of what he'd seen in a boy, something others had either missed or simply ignored.

He remembered getting the 'assignment', if that's what you want to call it...

_"Nate, I need you to do this for me. I don't know who else would be up for it and, frankly, I don't know if I trust anyone else to do it. You and me, we've been through a lot, so I know you can do this. I'd do it myself if I were a bit younger..."_

His friend, and General, had buttered him up thinking he wouldn't want to do what he was being asked. For it wasn't an order, it was a request. The higher ranks had decided not to shove it upon someone forcefully, but merely find someone who was able and willing.

The Colonel, he'd been a Lieutenant Colonel at the time, had just gotten off of active duty and accepted it willingly, despite the fact that he owed General Chase a few favors.

The General had smiled and clapped a hand on his shoulder before handing him a file. He'd stuck around to explain a few things and then left, telling him to call if he needed further information.

Nathaniel took a seat and flipped through the folder and was very surprised to find what it was all about.

The first thing he saw when he opened it was a picture. It was of a young man, 17 years old, of a good height and build. His hair was shaved almost to the scalp and he had dark, piercing eyes. He was frowning in the picture and it didn't take long to find out why. Boot camp.

The boy had been in and out of foster homes his whole life and half of the time it was of his own doing. He got into fights for reasons that were never investigated and had even pulled a knife on a few different people. He'd been sent to boot camp for six moths and apparently his performance had been outstanding. He out ran, out worked, out fought, and out witted all the other kids there and evenquite a fewof the grown men who worked there. Needless to say, the army had immediately taken notice and interest. They wanted him. Natural skill at that age could only mean that all of his skills and instincts would improve with time and training, which was proverbial gold to the Special Ops recruiters.This young man, barely 17, was already lined up for a successful looking career in the military.

The only problem was that he wasn't a legal adult, so they couldn't touch him. Legally, they couldn't even tell him they wanted him and continue his training until he was of legal age. Therefore, naturally, they had to keep him where they could know what he did and how he did it, how he changed and how he grew. That's where Nathaniel Shavers came in.

_"Just be careful, Nate. He doesn't know we want him and he just thinks you're another foster father who happens to be in the army. Make sure he keeps thinking that." _The General reminded him the day before the boy was to arrive.

Nathaniel's wife was excited but nervous to have the boy coming. They didn't have kids because she wasn't able to conceive and decided against adoption because he had been gone a lot of the time, so she was excited to have a kid around. The only thing wasthathe wasn't exactly a kid. He was a 17 year old who was bigger than some grown men, and he had a mean streak.

_"Don't worry," _Nathaniel had assured her. "_It sounds like the boy's better since boot camp. Trust me, that place can change you even if you don't want it to. It makes you more respectful and can turn your attitude right around. You'll see."_

The next day rolled around and a black car pulled slowly up their driveway and they moved out to the porch to meet their new arrival. The back door of the car opened and a young man stepped out and closed the door behind him. Nate walked down the steps and out to the car to meet him, shaking his hand firmly. The boy had a few inches on him, but Nate stood proudly, meeting the boy's eyes.

The driver of the car went around to the back and got the boy's bag from the trunk and handed it to him. Nate took it instead and thanked the man before heading up to the house.

_"We're glad to have you here, Richard"_

_"Yea, call me Riddick. Most people do..."_

:KNOCK:KNOCK:

The Colonel was torn from his reminiscing buy sharp knocks on the door.

"Come in," He said loudly, straightening up in his chair.

Lieutenant Patterson stepped in and closed the door. "Sir"

"Lieutenant, news?"

"Yes, sir"

"Well, out with it then," he retorted somewhat impatiently. He hated the waiting and if it was over now then he couldn't be more happy about it.

"The ship we believe to be his docked at Cercus Station..."

"Yes, yes, I know. The sleeper there was alerted, correct?" He didn't really have the time or patience for beating around the bush and he wanted new information, not things he already knew.

"Yes, sir, he was. Shane Anderson is at Cercus. As you know it seems he didn't change his ships name, at least not yet, and he didn't change who the ship was registered to and who was on board."

"Alright"

"Well, Anderson called in yesterday with an extremely interesting story and, erm, revelation."

"Meaning?" the Colonel prompted, leaning forward to urge the Lieutenant to hurry.

"Meaning he thinks, well, he pretty much knows he saw Riddick and Riddick spoke to him..."

"You've gotta be shitting me..."

"No, sir"

"Well I want to hear all about this. Go ahead and take a seat, out with it"

The Lieutenant sat down in a chair on the other side of the large oak desk and took a deep breath.

"It sounds like he was getting up front his chair at a café and the next thing he knew he had a knife on him and someone behind him..."

"Whoa, wait. There's no way Riddick could know he was military"

"I know, sir. That's where it gets even more interesting. We've always known he had the ship registered with two passangers, but always assumed he was doing it becasue it was a large ship so it'd be more normal if at last two people were said to be aboard. Well, sir, we now have reason to believe he's traveling with someone."

"Come again?"

"Traveling with someone, sir. When Anderson was eating an attractive woman apparently caught his eye and he was watching her. When he got up he was intending to go talk to her in a shop...that's when the man put a knife to his neck and threatened him. Anderson said the man told him to not even think about talking to the girl and not to even look at her like he was. Then the knife was gone and all Anderson saw when he turned was a large man in dark clothes walking down the sidewalk..."

"Well I'll be...and when did this happen?"

"Yesterday sir. Anderson called it in right away but the captain who received the message wanted some proof..."

"Damn O'Connor"

"It's all right, sir. Anderson sent back some pictures an hour ago of the girl in question. He saw her in town again and snapped some shots."

Patterson stood and set a manila envelope on the desk. "We don't have a name for her but we're working on it, sir. Anderson said she went to the docks and in the direction of _The Eclipse_, but he didn't dare go close to make sure, lest he was spotted."

"Yes, that was probably for the best. Is this all?" The Colonel asked, fingering the edge of the envelope anxiously.

'Yes, sir"

"Alright, dismissed then. And tell O'Connor that the message comes straight to me next time, ok?"

"Yes sir"

He saluted quickly before leaving the Colonel alone with the envelop.

Deft fingers opened the envelope and pulled out a few enlarged photographs. There was only four and they were all of a young woman walking out of a store. Colonel Shavers put her at about 20 and it was clear to see why she had caught his sleeper's eye. She was a beauty and he was sure Anderson wasn't the only man who'd looked twice at her.

He tacked the pictures to the bottom of the bulletin board on the wall and sat back to stare at them, trying to figure out how this girl fit into the puzzle of everything. He didn't doubt the information about the girl, but that made the whole thing more puzzling. He hoped they'd leave the station soon so he could follow after them figure it out. He didn't want to bust in on Riddick guns a' blazin and couldn't easily do that in the tightness of that space station even if he did want to.

The girl didn't look harmed, though, that was evident. He didn't think she was a hostage. In fact, he felt fairly certain that she was with him of her own free will, which pleased him immensely. It was just more proof to what he'd been saying for years. It showed what he'd seen in the first few days he's spent with the younger man years and years ago... something he'd seen in the boy's eyes...

"I knew you were in there Rick…I've been saying all along…" he said to himself, a smile tugging at his lips as he ponderedthis new discovery and at the memories...

* * *

**well there it is. I'm starting to tie everything together so let me know if it's confusing. I hope it isn't but tell me if it is because i'll change it so it isn't...ummmm, yea...review to let me know what you think.**

**FYI:** Yes, a lot of the chap was flash backs.

**R and R**


	13. Two Sides

**hey. Sorry it's been a while. I meant to update sooner but my internet was messed up for a couple days adn then fanfiction had read-only for a while. **

**Thanks for all the reviews and keep 'em coming, please! **

**Anywho...here's the next chap. Heehee...can u say sexual tension? huh..anyway, Enjoy.**

* * *

TWO SIDES

It had been a couple days since the little fiasco about the man at the café, and Riddick was surprised that Jack wasn't trying to hold it against him or guilt him for it. She went into town again the next day and he'd fought curiosity and stayed at the ship, working on it laboriously so they could get going again.

He'd finished working on the upgrades and now he was finishing up the food-prep machine. They hadn't had one before but he thought it would be good for times when neither of them felt like cooking. The next thing on his list was gonna be a little tricky because he wanted it to be a surprise. The only problem was that he wanted to install it in the bedroom and Jack would notice it. He'd have to keep thinking about that one.

He finished the last of the wiring on the food-prep and decided they'd test it later at dinner or something.

He put his toolbox away and washed his hands before going to find Jack. He followed his ears to the entertainment room and found her curled up on one end of the couch, watching whatever was on the TV. He stood and watched her from the doorway for a few minutes while she sat there and just looked beautiful. Damn, being cooped up with heron the shipwhile they were up in space was certainly going to be harder than it had been before... '_...and maybe much more interesting...' _a sly voice in the back of his head suggested with a growl. He shook his head to rid himself of those thoughts and noticed Jack was looking up at him now.

Jack heard Riddick when he walked in and looked up when he didn't come in and sit down. He was standing at the doorway and staring at her with an intense look in his eyes. At first she thought he was mad, but he didn't look mad. He looked more like he was thinking or something. She studied him and his eyes soon met hers.

He stepped towards her smoothly with an animal like grace that one might not think a man of his size could possess. The muscles under his skin rippled slightly as he moved and Jack shifted as she watched him. His clothes couldn't hide the power of his body. The black material of his shirt strained against his massive chest and left no doubt about the hardness of his abs.

Jack blinked and looked back up to his face. He'd stopped in front of her and was staring down at her.

"Come on"

"Huh?"

"Come on"

He nodded over his shoulder and turned around and started walking way. Jack hopped up and followed after him curiously. "Mind if I ask where we're going?"

"Feel like working out"

He led the way down a hall and to through one of the doors into their 'dojo.' It had mats on the floor and pads on the walls. A punching back hung in the corner and there were a few dumbbells in the locked cabinets. It had used to be an extra storage room, like the one next to it, but they'd turned it into an ideal place to work out and spar.

Jack was actually in the mood for a work out, suddenly, so she was more than happy that he'd invited her away from the TV, although she was sure he'd have dragged her along with him even if she hadn't want to

They stretched out and faced off, circling each other slowly. Jack swung at him and he deflected it, but she was able to land a kick to his side before he moved completely out of the way. He faked a lunge at her but she jumped back and kicked out at him with surprising speed. Not fast enough though.

He saw her foot coming and turned his upper body away from it and caught her ankle, yanking so that she fell to the floor. She tried to roll over but he had her pinned in seconds, pressing her against the floor mat.

Jack groaned and tried her best to wriggle free, at least enough to push him away or hit him. It was to very little avail, though, and she was getting nowhere fast.

Riddick smirked as she tried to get out of his hold. He very much doubted it would happen, but he was content with letting her use energy to get away before she gave in and said Uncle. He held in a chuckle but his body soon realized how she was squirming beneath him. The beast in him told him how easy it would be to take her right then, right there. His mind suddenly filled with the thoughts of her writhing beneath him without that shirt on and he could almost imagine her legs wrapped around him. '_No...'_

Jack stopped moving and sighed, ready to just give up and say Uncle. That was the only way to get back to her feet. She opened her mouth to give, but Riddick suddenly jumped to his feet.

"What?"

"Um...nothing...I'm hungry. I'm just gonna, uh, take a shower and then we'll try out the food-prep..." he said quickly and left before she could protest.

_'Huh...that was weird...'_

Jack let her head fall back on the mat and the smallest of grins tugged at her lips. She'd wanted to lean up and kiss the lips that had smirked down at her while she tried, in vain, to get out of his hold. In all honesty, she hadn't wanted out of his hold. She was perfectly content in his arms... but he didn't know that. She hadn't even tried to kiss because, what would he think? He'd probably sigh and tell her how she was 'more like a sister,' and they 'couldn't be like that.'

Did he see her as a sister or something?

'_Probably...' _she sighed, pushing herself to her feet. She didn't want him to see her that way. She wanted him to see her as the woman she'd grown up to be. _'Maybe I'll have to make him see it...'_ Jack froze at that thought and then snorted, trying to hold in a chuckle. That was certainly an idea...

Riddick left the dojo and went straight to the bathroom for a cold shower. He stripped down and stepped under the cold water, berating himself for his thoughts. They were just sparring, innocently sparring, and he'd had to let his mind go there. He'd had to resist the urge to bend forward and taste her lips and press himself down on her fully. God, he wanted her so bad. She was everything he wanted... everything he needed. He wasn't good enough for her, but, man, did he wish. He wished she saw him the same was he saw her.

The cold water pelted his skin and helped cool him down but he was worried about what would happen the next time they tried to work out together. He didn't want to do something he'd regret. He'd hate himself if he did something that ended up scaring her away.

'_You have no idea what you do to me, woman...what am I gonna do?'_

He certainly couldn't stay in the shower all day, so he turned the water off and stepped out of the stall before grabbing a towel and quickly drying off. He slipped back into his old clothes, since they were still clean, and made his way to the kitchen.

Jack was sitting on the counter flipping through a magazine she'd picked up at one of the shops.

"Ok, what do you want to eat?" he asked, avoiding look at her for too long, just in case it would conjure up more thoughts like the ones he'd had earlier. He stood in front of the food-prep, waiting for her to tell him what to program into the machine.

"Umm...cheeseburger'

"Ok"

Riddick pushed some buttons for her cheeseburger and two for himself since it sounded good. The food was done in a few minutes and they ate quietly and, for the first time in a long time, the silence was mildly awkward.

Jack ate quietly, not missing the fact that Riddick had barely looked at her since he came into the room. He was now eating quickly and quietly, not trying to make conversation like he usually did. He seemed pretty preoccupied, but she didn't know what he'd be thinking about. Was he mad at her? He had left the mat room pretty abruptly and hadn't given a reason...but why? She hadn't done anything and she was fairly certain he wasn't a mind reader, so he couldn't know what she'd been thinking. _'Damn complicated man...wish he'd say something...'_

She finished before Riddick did and she just sat and watched him finish, hoping her stare would make him say something, even if he just told her to stop staring. It didn't, though, and he got up when he finished and put his plate away before walking away to the living room.

Curious, Jack got up and followed him to findhim simply sitting on the couch and watching the TV. She sat herself on the other end of the couch but wasn't really paying attention to what was on the TV.

"Are you mad at me?" She asked, finally, after they'd sat there for almost half an hour.

"What?" Riddick's head snapped around to look at her and he gave her a strange look.

"Are. You. Mad. At. Me." she repeated slower.

"No. Hell no, why would I be mad?"

"I don't know. You haven't said two words to me since you 'made' dinner. You haven't even looked at me for that matter"

Riddick blinked. He hadn't really noticed. He hadn't wanted to start staring at her or anything but hadn't really realized he wasn't looking at her at all, and he must've been making it pretty obvious. Shit, now he felt like an ass.

"Oh, well...no, I'm not mad," heassured herlamely.

Jack just nodded and sat back a little, but he knew she wasn't entirely satisfied with his answer. Hell, he wasn't either. How was he supposed to tell her the truth? '...well, Jack,I had to take a cold shower when I left the mat room because all I could think about was taking you right there and I avoided looking at you so I wouldn't start thinking about it again...' Yea, that would go over well.

He sighed and moved over on the couch and slipped an arm around her shoulders. He trusted himself to do that, reminding himself that it was a completely innocent gesture. '_Yea, well, the sparring had started innocently too...'_ his inner beast growled, remembering having her underneath him. '_Stop!'_

He shifted awkwardly and looked back to the TV as Jack leaned into him, fitting perfectly in the crook of his arm._ 'Perfect...'_

Jack settled against Riddick's side, satisfied for now. Whatever it was couldn't be a big deal or else he'd tell her. His hand started to lightly rubbed her back and, after a while, her eyelids started to feel heavy. They were drooping and she couldn't seem to make them stay open for very long. She finally gave up and stood and stretched.

"I'm gonna get to bed," She managed around a yawn.

"Alright, I'll be there in a little bit"

Jack nodded and headed off to the bedroom, changing and flopping down onto the bed. She wished Riddick was there so cuddle up to...would he even want her to? He'd seemed pretty hesitant on the couch? _'What's the deal...?'_

She wouldn't be to happy if Riddick randomly decided to stop all the little acts of affection. Then something would just be missing. Of course, every time he hugged her or something she was usually stuck wanting more, but at least they were something. _'yea, something...but not enough.' _Would he ever want to do more? Did he even see that way. '_Like I said before, I could try to make him see it...'_

Deciding that was a daring and interesting idea that she was all for, she laid on her back and slowly let sleep claim her, falling asleep before Riddick came in.

* * *

Riddick had watched Jack walk away and tried unsuccessfully to keep his eyes from noticing the sway of her hips. He caught the end of the news before turning off the TV and going up to the bedroom. He pulled off his shirt and climbed under the covers in only his sweat pants. 

He laid and stared at Jack's back for a while, wondering if he trusted himself to wrap an arm around her and cuddle with her like they usually did. Somehow, all their usual innocent routines and activities had turned horribly against him. He was worried about showing her his normal affection, afraid it would turn into something he'd regret. _'Man, I really should talk to her...but how do I tell her this...damn it!'_

He ran a hand over his head in agitation with himself and decided he'd have to shave again sometime in the near future. Oh well, that was a very small matter compared to what he was trying to figure out. He had to find a way to get everything straightened out...but how? Was this really something he could talk to her about? Again, he didn't know and he didn't want to scare her away. '_But what happens next time she wants to work out or cuddle up to you...what if you can stop yourself?' _The animal side of him teased.

_'Not gonna happen. I can't hurt her...it WON'T happen..'_

His inner animal had nothing to say to that; didn't try to urge him to do something. No part of him wanted to hurt Jack, but certainly wouldn't mind playing a little...or a lot, which ever. Both sides of him wanted wanted her, and it was his animal side that urged him to do something about it, while the more human side, which Jack had helped him discover, told him it was something he couldn't have and he listened to that side of himself.

Over the past years with Jack, he'd learned how to control and cage his rougher side, settling more into the Riddick that wanted to be part of society again. He'd learned from experience a while back how to keep the animal in him on a tight leash, only letting go when he needed to. It had been a little rocky in the beginning, but he could keep his anger inmoderately good check now. He'd surprised himself with how easily he'd been able to adapt to living with and, in part, taking care of someone else. In helping her, he'd helped himself even more. She was everything. No, he wouldn't hurt her. He couldn't.

He moved closer to her on the bed and wrapped his arm around her stomach. He didn't move too close and held himself away, watching the rhythmic rising and falling of her chest and letting the steady sound of her breathing lull him to sleep.

* * *

**Well, there ya have it. I could see a little 'somethin, somethin' happening in the not too far future...what do you think?**

**Review and tell me what ya think of the chap and all that good stuff and, as always, let me know if anything was confusing.**

**I'm not sure if the next chap is gonna be more about Riddick and Jack or some Colonel Shavers stuff...but it will be up soon. Like...tomorrow hopefully. So yea...**

**R and R**


	14. and it Finally Clicked

**OK...Don't hate me, but sorry for ppl who were lookin for a little 'somethin somethin' this chap,but it's coming i promise! soon! i just had to get this out of the way cuz i'm gonna tie this into something in the next chapter...at least i'm going to try...we'll just have to see how i get it to work. Anyway!...on with the chap. **

**It's had one of those flashbacks in it, so i hope it's not confusing...tell me if it is.**

* * *

...AND IT FINALLY CLICKED

Colonel Shavers had been thinking about the pictures sent from Cercus Station for the past few days, knowing something in the back of his head. Somehow, he knew the pictures fit with Riddick in an obvious way, but for the life of him he hadn't been able to figure it out.

That is, until he happened to glance around and his eyes fell on the report of the Hunter-Gratzner crash, and it finally clicked. He grabbed the report and whipped it open. The only survivors were William Johns (it wasn't until a while later that they found out it was actually Riddick), Abu 'Imam' al-Walid, and a kid registered under the name Jack, who was really a girl named Jacquelyn.

He found the picture of that 15-year-old girl and held it up to the woman in the more recent photos. Besides the obvious maturity and growing, he could see they were the same person.

"Well I'll be..."

I large smile spread across his face. She hadn't ran away as the holy man had led them to believe. Riddick had taken her in and had apparently taken very good care of her. She looked healthy and all right, certainly pretty and he was sure she'd be quite smart if she grew up around Riddick. Riddick had always been extremely smart and his IQ was off the charts. Just one more reason the military had wanted him so much...

:FLASH BACK:

Riddick had been very wary when he'd first moved into the house but had actually started relaxing after a week or so. He'd started talking a little more and that was when Nathaniel had started noticing things about him...

The Shavers' lived right next to a public park where a lot of people spent time on nice days. The younger kids ran around and played on the swing sets while the older ones would play catch or something 'cooler' than what the little kids did. Teenagers tended to hang out there at night.

It was on one of these evenings when Nate caught something more to Riddick than just toughness and passiveness.

When Riddick wanted to run he'd run the paved path around the park and Nate would often join him to maintain his own fitness.

"Hey babe, you're looking good," some teenaged boy drawled at a girl who was passing by him in a skirt that showed of her nice legs.

The girl gave him a glare and kept walking.

"Oh, come on honey, don't wanna give me a little lovin?" The boy asked cockily, egged on by the snickers of his friends.

"No!" the girl spat contemptuously.

"Aw, even if I say please?" The boy followed behind her, grabbing her ass and grinning broadly when he was met with 'whoops' from his friends.

"Ew, get off!"

The boy's hand was traveling lower to the bottom of her mini skirt when his arm was suddenly in a vice-like grip, yanking him bodily away from the girl.

"That is NOT the way you treat a girl," Riddick had growled at him, perfectly calm but threatening all the same.

"Sorry dude, I didn't know she was your girl," The boy stammered.

"She's not, but you don't treat girls like that. Apologize"

"What?"

"Tell her you're sorry," He'd repeated, slower this time.

The boy looked at Riddick like he was crazy before realizing he was serious. "Sorry, sorry we were just jokin', ya know? Really, I'm sorry."

Riddick had let the boy go and left his run unfinished, choosing instead to walk the girl home before going back to the house. Nathaniel had watched him go and was struck by the act. Sadly, most people tended to turn a blind eye to those type of things, saying 'these things happen,' and just don't step in. Everything he'd been told about Riddick said he'd probably do the same thing. '_He's mean,' _he'd read. '..._Likes to start trouble and rebel against authority,' _that's why he'd been sent to boot camp; to learn to 'respect authority.'

But, as Nate walked home that day, he thought maybe there was more to it. Maybe Riddick saw society and authority for what it was: flawed. What he'd done for that girl was right. Society's standards would've suggested that he should turn a blind eye like others, so that made society wrong.

_'He has no respect for others...' _another statement had read. Only he did...he'd just showed that. Maybe he just had even more respect for himself. Yes that had to be it. Most of his problems had been in his foster homes and Nathaniel had heard bad stories about foster homes. He decided to look closer into Riddick's past homes and what he found was both surprising and insightful.

The incident in the park was only the beginning of Nate seeing more into Riddick. Riddick had settled down with him and his wife and, within a month, had seemed pretty happy there; a happiness which only seemed to grow with time. They took him in like their own and his wife was particularly fond of him, never having had a kid of her own. Sure she hadn't raised him, but she had turned into a doting mother nonetheless.

Nate had always left his room quite a bit in the night for a glass of water or something to eat when he couldn't sleep and he often found Riddick sitting in the kitchen. It seemed that Riddick hadn't been a great sleeper either. They had many a long talks during those nights and Nate had often wondered if Riddick would even want to go into the military and finally asked him during one of their late night talks.

"What do you want to do when you grow up?" Nate asked casually during a conversation about what classes Riddick wanted to enroll in for his senior year, which was coming up.

"I dunno"

"Oh come on, there must be something you want to do"

"Well…I thought about the military when I was at boot camp cuz I was good at it and all, but…" he trailed off, shrugging.

"But what?" Nate pressed while trying to sound as though he didn't care either way.

"I dunno…I guess I want a family and none of those drill sergeants seemed like people who would have a family…and you don't. I mean, you're married to Clare but you don't have kids or anything…"

"No, we don't have kids of our own…" Nate agreed quietly with a nod. If he regretted anything about his career it was that he hadn't really had the time to adopt a kid as his own.

"I dunno…hell, maybe I wouldn't even be a good dad…"

"What makes you say that?" Nate asked curiously, his psychiatrist side kicking in.

"I dunno…I get pissed pretty easy. Like…I don't now how to explain but….when I fight, I like it, ya know? I know I won't lose, i just won't…is that strange?" Riddick looked up at him and Nate could see it in his eyes that he was confused. Confused about himself and who he was.

"That's not strange, that's just you knowing yourself and your abilities"

"But part of me likes it…"

Nate only shrugged. He didn't know what to say. He knew plenty of people who liked to fight; they're called bullies. He didn't think Riddick was a bully though. Riddick didn't fight if he didn't have to, but he thrived in it when he did and he was right, he did always win. Nate hadn't read anything about the boy losing a fight to another kid who'd messed with him.

They fell into a comfortable silence for a while after that before slipping back off to their bedrooms. Nate hadn't known at the time, but that was the last late night talk he'd have with the boy. If he had known, he would've said something more. He would have tried to tell Riddick what he really thought of him, what he saw in him. He never did get the chance to…

"I hope this is my chance…" Colonel Shavers said quietly, gazing at the picture of the girl that could be his link to Riddick…his link to what he'd been trying to get back every since he lost it.

* * *

**um...yea..hope that wasn't too bad. The 'surprising and insightful' things that Nate found out are what i'm gonna try to tie into the next chapter...**

**I'm gonna try to get the next chap up tomorrow morning b4 i leave to Florida, so hopefully i'm able to or else it's gonna be a few days, AH! but the next chap should be nice and long (any guesses why? heh heh) **

**So tell me what u think...i was a little unsure of this chap so tell me if it's bad and i'll take it down and rethink it...**

**huh...there was something else i was gonna say but now i forget...i hate it when this happens...hopefully it wasn't important...**

**R and R**


	15. Realizations

**hey. I'm really, really, REALLY sorry that's it's been so long. I was in Florida for a week and then this week i've been busy as hell. it kind of sucked, but hopefully i won't be so busy now. Apparently school work is important...who'd have guessed, right? hah**

**Anyway, it's a long chapter so hopefully that makes you happy. Forgive me if it's not that good cuz i don't know how good i am at writing some...stuff...**

**Hope you enjoy...**

**oh! i got a comment or 2 about spacing between words. IDK how that stuff is happening. It's fine when i type it and then gets messed up sometimes when i post it. Sorry, i'll do what i can.**

* * *

REALIZATIONS

Jack shifted in bed and was met only by more blankets and pillows. Opening her eyes to small slits, she lifted her head. No Riddick. She flopped her head back down with a groan and rolled onto her back. She concentrated, listening to the sounds of the ship, and decided he was probably in the cargo hold. _'Already working...damn, did I sleep in?'_

She checked her watch and, yes, she had slept in. She rolled over and went down the hall to the shower, trusting that to wake her up completely.

After a long hot shower Jack felt much more refreshed and clear headed. She stood in front of her closet with her towel wrapped around her, contemplating what to wear. She was about to grab for some running pants when she remembered last night and decided to see if she could get Riddick to 'notice' her. A wicked smirk tugged at her lips as she rummaged through her closet.

Normally Jack just went with loose jeans, cargo pants, or tear away pants, but she had a few pair of tight pants. She hadn't worn them in a while but she figured they might get Riddick's attention...maybe...hopefully.

She stood in front of the mirror once she was dressed and decided it was probably the best she could do. She pulled her hair back quickly and left the room to go to town for a little bit. She didn't really need anything, but she couldn't think of another reason to go through the cargo hold for something.

Riddick was lying under a console in the cargo hold, quickly redoing the wiring on the heater. He'd had to undo some of it the other day and had remembered about it when he was making coffee. It was a good thing too because it would've royally sucked to have gotten up into space and then be freezing.

"Hey Jack," he mumbled, hearing her on the stairs before she even said anything.

"Hey. I think I'm gonna go into town for a little bit"

"Ok...how long you plan on being out?" He asked, sliding out from under the console and blinking quickly when he took in what Jack was wearing. She definitely was dressed how she usually was, that was for sure, and he had to stop himself from staring.

"Dunno...um...I think I'm just gonna go back to that book store that I got your book at. I didn't get a chance to really look around. It shouldn't take too long, ok?"

"Uh...sure. Be careful," he said quickly before he could stop himself. If people hadn't looked at her before they were sure as hell gonna look at her now.

To his relief she just nodded and walked off down the ramp and out of sight.

"Shit," he mumbled, resting his head on the wall.

He was used to seeing Jack in some kind of cargo pants and sometimes a tight t-shirt or something and she looked good like that...but damn. She'd been wearing tight olive colored khakis that road low on her hips and hugged her hips perfectly. Her black spaghetti strap tank top had been just as tight and just as tantalizing. It fit her like a glove and ended somewhere around the middle of her bellybutton, showing a teasing amount of skin between it's hem and the top of her pants.

_'She better not be making this wardrobe change permanent or this is gonna be about ten times harder...'_

Hoping luck was on his side, Riddick went back to working on the heater while trying not to think of Jack.

Jack walked to the bookstore disappointed. As far as she'd seen, he hadn't done more than glance at her but she couldn't be positive. Those damn goggles made it impossible to tell what he was looking at and what he was thinking. Maybe, just maybe he'd liked what he'd seen and she just wasn't able to tell...

_'And that's what is called wishful thinking...' _Jack thought to herself, feeling disappointed without her consent. She hadn't wanted to hope Riddick would notice, but she had. She'd gotten her hopes up against her will, even though she wasn't sure if she'd totally expected Riddick to notice.

She looked around the bookstore for a while but only half-heartedly. Try as she might, she couldn't get herself to be interested in the books, so she left after only about 15 minutes of browsing around. She slowly trudged up to the ship and a hope started to light in her again that maybe this time Riddick would notice. She frowned and quickly quelled the thought and walked up the ramp and into the kitchen where Riddick was washing his hands.

"Back so soon?" he asked, not even turning around.

"Yea," she answered sullenly, plopping into a seat at the table.

"Why? Something happen?"

He actually sounded worried. Why would he be worried? She'd gone out before and he hadn't worried about it... except for the one time, and she'd flip if this was anything like that.

"No, I just didn't feel like looking around the book store"

"Oh... you ok?" Riddick asked, taking in the fact that she was fidgety.

"Yea...wanna work out?" she asked suddenly, sounding hopeful.

Riddick blinked quickly several times and was glad that he had his goggles on so Jack wouldn't notice. He'd been wondering when she'd want to and almost dreading the moment she'd ask. He couldn't really say no. He didn't have anything to do and, besides that, he hardly ever turned down a workout with her unless there was something else that had to be done right away.

"Sure, let's go"

Jack smiled and hopped up from her seat and went to put different pants on. She grabbed a pair of dark blue tear away pants and pulled them on before going down to the mat room. Riddick was already there and stretching out so she sat down next to him and did the same.

When they faced off they circled each other slowly, seeing who would be first to give in and make a move. Jack was itching for something to start but decided she wanted to our wait Riddick just for the heck of it.

She was about to give in and go for it when Riddick's leg darted out to sweep her feet from underneath her. She moved back just in time and they continued circling each other. They both threw a few punches but neither landed much.

Jack was getting particularly aggravated with the pace of things since she'd realized she had some pent up energy she wanted to vent. She watched him closely, never taking her eyes off him, and took advantage of him the moment he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

She lunged forward and caught him with his weight off balance, bringing him to the floor beneath her. It took him all of a few seconds to get over his surprise, and he was soon rolled on top of her, pinning her beneath him.

"Not too bad," he chuckled.

"Yea, I got you down"

"Yea but you didn't keep me that way, did you?" he shot back, lowering and shifting himself to keep her from bringing an arm up.

She shrugged as much as she could in his hold and then grunted softly in discontent. Riddick just smirked down at her, completely comfortable to wait until she said Uncle. He waited and soon caught on that she was taking a second to get her breath back. He shook his head but was perfectly find with waiting.

Riddick gazed down at her and couldn't help staring at her lips, which were fixed in a subtle, cute pout since she was pinned. Before he really registered the decision, he lowered his face towards hers, wanting to see how her lips tasted. When the thought occurred to him that maybe he shouldn't, it was too late. He pressed his lips down to hers and found, much to his surprise, that her mouth was open to him. A small thrill passed through him and he lightly ran his tongue across her parted lips.

It suddenly struck him as odd that she didn't kiss him back.

_'Huh...'_

Then, to his horror, he felt her try to pull her arms from the hold he had on them.

_'Shit'_

He quickly pushed himself away from her and jumped up off her. He looked down at her and she looked up at him in surprise and she tilted he head at him, breathing a little heavy from the small lack of oxygen.

_'Oh God...oh no...'_

"Um...Jack...I... you should go..."

"Go?"

"To the kitchen or the bedroom or...anywhere, just...out, all right?" he said quickly and quietly, trying not to sound mad. He wasn't furious with _himself_ and he didn't want to her to think he was mad at_ her_. He looked around the room for something to take his anger out on but needed to wait till Jack was gone. Damn, what was taking her so long?

He turned and stared determinedly at the wall with his hands planted firmly on the padding. He wouldn't move until he knew Jack was out of the room. He wouldn't.

"Riddick..."

"Out," he repeated quietly but firmly.

He heard her move and hung his head, hoping she'd hurry up and get out. _'God, I fucked up so bad this time... she couldn't even move to get away from me or get me off...'_

_- - _

Jack pushed herself into a sitting position, trying to figure out what the problem was. She'd opened her mouth to say 'Uncle' and had been taken totally by surprise when his mouth was on hers. Her heart skipped a beat and she froze, wondering if it was some sort of weird accident. She realized it wasn't when his tongue skimmed across her slightly parted lips and, god, it had felt good. She'd been trying to tug her arm away to bring to the side of his face, because it seemed like the right thing to do, and then he jumped off her like she'd burned. Then he wanted her to leave.

_'Leave? But why? What'd I do? Maybe he didn't really mean to...no, no he meant to. Then why's he acting mad? Is he mad at me? No, he doesn't seem mad at ME. He seems mad at himself, but why? He didn't do...shit!'_

Jack cringed when realization hit her.

_'It's not what HE didn't do...it's what **I** didn't do...'_

She hadn't kissed him back. She'd been so surprised that the kiss was even happening that she hadn't reacted to it in time.

_'Shit, Jack, you're so stupid. Now he probably thinks he was forcing himself on me and I didn't want it. Screw that, I sure do...'_

Jack pushed herself to her feet and slowly approached Riddick, where he stood facing the wall with his head hung. She stopped beside him and slowly reached out to touch his shoulder. His muscle twitched beneath her hand.

"Riddick..."

"I asked you to leave" He told her quietly.

"I know"

"Then go"

Jack shook her head and tried to get him to turn around. He just shrugged her off and made no move to look at her.

Jack sighed and ducked under his arm to stand between him and the wall so both of his hands were planted to either side of her head.

Riddick cleared his throat but refused to look at her like she wanted him to. He did, however, turn his head and look to the side so it didn't look like he was staring down at her breasts. They stood there for a few minutes and he was about to tell her to leave again when she spoke up.

"You didn't have to stop," she said quietly.

Riddick's head snapped to look at her, gazing at her hard through his goggles. She couldn't possibly mean what he thought she meant...what he wanted her to mean. She couldn't mean that, could she?

"Meaning?" he asked after a hesitation. He couldn't make assumptions.

"Meaning...I didn't want you to stop..." Jack said quietly, looking up into his goggles, not knowing what else to say or how to say it.

Riddick leaned down, intent on her lips, until his face was almost an inch from hers. He couldn't push her into this.

"But you didn't--"

"I was surprised," she whispered quickly, knowing what he was thinking. "Sorry"

Riddick shook his head and closed the rest of the distance between them. He captured her lips with his again, but this time she kissed him back. A quiver of excitement shot through him when she rested her hands on his stomach and her tongue met his as they explored each other's mouths. He dragged his mouth away from hers and traced his tongue along her jaw line, feeling Jack's slightly erratic breathing on his neck.

He stopped and rested his cheek on her temple, taking a deep breath.

"I should, though," he said quietly and grudgingly. "Stop, I mean"

Jack shook her head, appalled at the thought. There was no way she wanted him to stop.

"But Jack..." he whispered, nuzzling the side of her face lightly. He didn't even know why he was trying to turn away what he wanted so much, other than he didn't want to be pushing her into something she didn't want.

"Riddick, you're not making me do anything I don't want to do," Jack assured him, knowing where he was going and loving him all the more for it.

Riddick felt elated at her words and a sense of assurance filled him. This was ok.

He lowered his head and ran his tongue down to her earlobe, taking it into his mouth and gently tugging at it, rewarded by a gasp from Jack.

He dropped his hands to her waist and stepped closer, pressing his body flush against hers. _'This feels so right...' _He moved his mouth slowly down her neck to her collarbone and roused a soft moan from her when he lightly sucked on it.

He stepped back and surveyed her silently, trailing his hands up from her waist to the sides of her ribcage. His rested his hands there lightly; almost afraid he'd break her. After great deliberation, he lifted her up to him and she wrapped her legs around his waist automatically.

Jack felt particularly vulnerable with her feet off the ground, but she knew she was safe in his arms. This was Riddick, after all, and she trusted him completely. She gazed down at him and frowned.

"Lights dim," she whispered. When the lights were low enough, she reached her hands up and slid his goggles off.

The look in his eyes surprised her. He usually guarded his feeling, but now there was raw emotion in his eyes. She just started at him and knew she was the only one who'd seen him like that.

After a moment, Riddick stepped away from the wall and carried her towards the door as if she weighed nothing. Jack held onto him closely and kissed along his neck lightly, still amazed that all of this was happening.

When she looked up, they were in the bedroom and Riddick sat down so that she was straddling his lap. He hastily pulled the hair tie out of her hair and let her dark locks fall around her shoulders, pausing for a moment to run his hands through it.

Riddick captured her lips in his again and ran his hands up and down her thighs slowly. Jack clung to his broad shoulders, feeling slightly light headed from all the sensations Riddick's touch elicited from her.

Wanting to feel more of her, his hands quickly found the waist of her shirt and pulled it carefully up over her head, discarding it to the floor. He gazed longingly at her in his lap and lifted her so that she stood tall on her knees. He bent his head forward and trailed his tongue from the bottom of her bra down her stomach, grinning when he felt her muscles twitch at his soft touch.

Jack lightly dragged her hand from Riddick's shoulders, up the back of his neck to the back of his head where her hands were met with the prickly feeling of short stubble. She was so intent on the feeling of Riddick's mouth on her that she hadn't noticed he was moving until he laid her back on the bed.

Riddick propped himself up above her and dragged his eyes over her, taking in her small form beneath his large one. He looked back up to meet her eye and stared at her long and hard, mercury meeting dark green.

"You're sure this is what you want?" he asked quietly.

"Positive"

Riddick nodded and took her hand in his, intertwining their fingers together. He held her hand as he surveyed her, taking her in.

"Beautiful..." he whispered, causing Jack to blush.

He grinned and lowered himself to her for a kiss.

Jack moaned softly into his mouth as she felt his weight on her. She could feel his hard muscles through his shirt and slowly reached down to find the bottom of his shirt. Grateful that he had untucked it to work out, she pulled it off easily and tossed it to the side.

Perfect. That was the only word that came to Jack's mind as she eyed him. She tentatively reached her hands out and trailed down from his shoulders, across his massive chest and down along his hard stomach, tracing the defined lines of his abs.

Riddick held himself above her to let her explore him all she wanted. Her soft touch was tantalizing and exhilarating. The tightness in his pants grew more so as her fingers traced over his lower abs before coming back up to his shoulders to pull him down to her.

Riddick let himself be drawn into the kiss and knew he'd never tire of kissing her. He slowly let his hand drift down to the waist of her pants and slowly began to push them down. Jack lifted her hips from the bed to help him, and her pants were soon on the floor.

Riddick dragged his mouth away from hers and nibbled along her jaw line to her neck, where he gently sucked and nipped at the skin.

Jack moaned softly and wrapped her arms around Riddick's back, feeling and familiarizing herself with every inch of skin she could feel. As Riddick worked his mouth along her neck and throat, she couldn't help but start to writhe under the onslaught of feelings he was awakening in her.

Riddick buried his face in her hair and reached his hand around Jack's back to find the clasp of her bra. He fumbled with it for a moment but soon had it undone and her bra, too, was tossed to the floor.

He stared at what he'd just released for a moment before reaching out to cup her left breast in one large hand. Jack gasped quietly and arched her back towards his hand, and his mouth soon replaced his hand as he sucked and licked, teasing her nipple into a peak. After a moment, he shifted and gave the same attention to her other breast, causing Jack to moan and clutch Riddick's shoulders, lightly raking her nails across his dark skin.

Riddick groaned and moved back up to Jack's mouth. Her hands on him felt great. Small and shy, but real. He knew she wasn't faking or calculating her responses. What they were doing was real.

He slowly lifted himself off of her and held himself up on his hands. He ran his hand through her hair and down her cheek, all the way down her side until his finger was hooked in her underwear. She looked nervous but not about him. The fear he saw in her eyes was one of someone who'd never been with a man before.

Slowly, he pulled her underwear down and off, watching her face to gauge her reactions. Jack just stared right back up at him, knowing she was safe with him.

He moved to kneel between her legs and moved his hand down to rest on her thigh. A small shiver ran through her and he hesitated.

"You ok?" he asked huskily. He was pretty sure it had been a shiver of anticipation, but he didn't want to be misreading anything.

"Yes," she nodded and gave him a small reassuring smile.

He moved his hand forward and ran his finger along her folds. She gasped softly and her hand tightened on his shoulder in expectance.

Gently, Riddick slipped a finger inside her and watched as Jack gasped and lightly bit her lower lip. At that moment, he wasn't sure if he'd ever seen something so simple look so damn sexy. He bent forward and took her lip in his own mouth as he slowly moved his finger back out and in again.

Jack's breathing picked up and became more erratic as he slid two fingers in side her. She was ready for him, but Riddick knew he had to go slow. He didn't want to scare her or hurt her, and that meant he had to go at a pace she'd be ok with. He felt her muscles begin to tighten around his fingers and her moved them a little faster to push her over the edge.

"Oh...Riddick...ahhh"

She gasped and sighed deeply before her eyes took on the look that they weren't really seeing what was in front of them.

Jack gasped and saw only Riddick as waves of pleasure raked through her, taking her to a place where rational thoughts were no where to be found. Her body shook and she closed her eyes to ride out the waves of sensation and reopened them to find Riddick propped on his forearms above her.

"You ok?"

"I'm great," She whispered back softly, met with a smile from Riddick. A big, true smile; one that only appeared on his face rarely.

Jack looked up at Riddick and saw her longing reflected in his eyes. She glanced down and her hands found the top of his pants. She looked up at him questioningly and he lifted himself up a little to oblige her. She fumbled a moment with the button but soon had the zipper undone, and he helped her get his pants and boxers off of him and he kicked them to the floor.

Jack looked him over and took in his size. Big. She wanted this, she'd longed for it for quite a while...and she was scared.

Riddick watched her closely and remained quiet. This was what he was hesitant about. He had to go slow for her so she'd get over her nervousness.

He lowered himself and situated himself between her legs, pulling them up so they were bent slightly. He positioned himself at he opening and moved his mouth close to her ear.

"Ok?"

He felt her nod and moved forward a little bit. He let her adjust and then moved forward again. Little by little, he pressed forward until she gave way to him totally and he was completely inside her.

"Still ok?"

"MmmHmm"

Jack shifted herself slightly and adjusted to Riddick's size. It hadn't hurt like she'd thought it might. The pain quickly subsided, and she loved the feeling of being amazingly full.

Riddick was perfectly still inside her and Jack knew he was waiting for her. He was softly nuzzling her neck and running his a hand up and down her arm for comfort. Jack smiled and pressed her hips up to him, encouraging him to continue.

Riddick pulled out and carefully pushed back in, and he established a slow pace, holding her close and kissing her deeply.

Jack ran her feet over his calves and arced up to meet him. She ran her hands over his chest and writhed beneath him under the rush of sensations. She moaned as he pressed into her and the friction continued to build with each of his strokes. Her fingers raked over his back as she let out a pent up groan, which roused a deep growl from Riddick.

Riddick reached under her and lifted her hips up to him to angle himself better inside her; looking to give her more stimulation. He loved being fully inside her. She was so warm and tight that it was almost hard for him not to loose it, but he kept himself under control. She had to go first.

Jack cried out softly as her stomach tightened and her vision slowly began to blur. She clung to his shoulders tightly and a lone team slipped from her eye as her body shook with her climax.

Riddick felt Jack's muscles tighten and picked up the pace, shuddering his own release just after he felt her reach hers.

He slowly lowered himself onto her while they regained the breath. They shared a thin layer of sweat and he rested his head on her shoulder, dimly becoming aware of her hands running lightly up and down his back. He turned his head and nuzzled her neck in response, before pushing himself up to look down at her.

He felt a rush of unknown emotions well up in his chest as he gazed at her and wasn't sure of the reason. She smiled up at him and he returned the smile and gave her a soft kiss before rolling over. He pulled Jack with him so she was laying on top of him, and he gently stroked her hair.

Jack snuggled into him and closed her eyes, feeling tired and completely happy. She slowly rose and fell with his chest, and the strong and steady rhythm of his heart slowly lulled her to sleep.

Riddick laid awake, even after he felt Jack fall asleep, and continued running his hand through her hair. He loved her, he realized after a few minutes of pondering the feeling in his chest. Of course he loved her, he always had, honestly, but now it was a different kind of love than it had been.

It suddenly stuck him that he might not have ever told her he loved her. Had he?...no, he hadn't. He was pretty sure it was an understood, but he was also pretty sure his mouth had never said the words.

He looked down at her and hated to wake her up, but it was suddenly very important to him that she knew.

"Jack..." He gently shook her shoulder and felt her stir and mumbled something unintelligible. "Jack, baby, wake up"

Jack sighed and lifted herself up a little, squinting up into the silver orbs she knew to be Riddick's eyes.

"Mmmm, what?"

"...I love you," he whispered, after a short hesitation.

Everything went quiet. Even the ship seemed to have fallen silent, as though it realized the gravity of the situation. Riddick watched with intense anticipation as a smile quickly spread over Jack's face.

"I love you, too"

"Yea?" He asked, relived, letting out a breath he hadn't noticed he was holding.

"Course I do"

Riddick smiled and felt complete, somehow; like something he'd been missing suddenly fell into place.

He blinked and was surprised when he noticed Jack's hand on the side of his face. He looked at her strangely as she took her hand away and stared at it.

"What?"

"You're crying..." she said simply, with the smallest hint of a smile.

"What..." Riddick felt his cheek with his own hand and felt a trail of wetness.

Jack gently wiped away the two streaks on his cheeks and kissed him softly before gazing at him intently.

"Does it make you that sad that I love you?" she asked with a small smirk, telling him she was only kidding.

"No...but it seems like forever since I've heard those words directed at me," he told her with a sigh.

"Really?" Jack asked, somewhat surprised. Growing up had sucked for her after he mom died, but before that she was happy. Her mom told her she loved her all the time. Why hadn't Riddick had that?

"Yea. Shit, I've been in and out of slam for a long time and then I was just in foster homes. Generally, they don't really love you like real parents."

"But one family did?" Jack asked, suddenly interested. Riddick rarely talked about his past but she was always interested when he did.

"Why is this conversation getting all deep and Riddick centered?" he asked awkwardly. He'd never talked about his past much before.

"Cuz if something makes Richard B. Riddick cry, I wanna know about it," Jack said matter-of-factly, moving to lay beside him.

"Whoa, where you goin?"

Riddick stopped her by tightening his grip around her waist and Jack rolled her eyes and chuckled.

"Nowhere"

She slid to the side and propped herself up on an elbow to look at Riddick expectantly.

"You're not gonna drop it right now, are you?" he asked drily, yet there seemed to be a small amount of amusement in his voice.

"Nope"

Riddick sighed and pulled her closer to his side, running his fingers lazily up and down her arm.

"There was this one family, when I was about 11, who were real, ya know? They didn't just take me in for the money. They wanted their daughter to have a brother, but they couldn't have kids anymore. They genuinely wanted me..."

"Not like the other foster homes?"

"Damn straight. All the other parents were mostly pervs who liked little kids... sick stuff. Anyway, once I realized they weren't like the other people, I loved it there. They cared about me and told me they loved me and everything...it was great, until..."

He trailed off and Jack let him take his time to think about what to say.

"Things were fine until just after I turned 13. The girl, Tracey, was a year older than me and some kids were messin' with her while we were walking home from school. I guess they were probably 15 or something and they were catcalling at her and one kid had the gall to start feeling her up. It pissed me off and, I dunno, I guess I just snapped. I tackled the kid and hit him anywhere I could get my hands on. That was the first time I ever wanted to kill someone and actually did something about it...I beat the shit out of him. You just don't treat a girl like that, and I swear to god I would've killed him if his friends and one of the neighbors hadn't pried me off of him. I don't know what happened to him after that..."

"What did you're parents say?" Jack asked, pretty sure she kind of knew where this was going.

Riddick swallowed and unconsciously pulled Jack closer to his side. "Nothing. The cops came and took me home. Tracey told them what happened so they let me off, even though they didn't really want to. The parents heard what I did and saw what the other boy ended up looking like...and they freaked out. They couldn't look at me the same way. Every time they did look at me there was this weird look in their eyes...they thought I was an animal. I guess I am..."

Jack shook her head and kissed his side while he paused.

"They gave me back up to system after that. They said they didn't think they could 'control me.' ...I scare away the people who care about me." He added the last part quietly, after a pause.

Jack had the feeling there was something more to his last statement, but didn't push him to tell more. She sat up and looked down at him. "You're not gonna scare me away, you know," she reassured him.

"I hope not"

"You won't. I love you and that means _all _of you. I'm not gonna leave you. I'm not scared of you."

"Good. I don't know what I'd do if you left," he admitted quietly, surprising himself with the true confession.

"Well, I'm not going anywhere," Jack stated simply.

With that she laid back down next to him with her head resting on his chest. They fell into a silence but neither of them fell asleep.

"I'm sorry," Jack said after a few long minutes.

"What for?"

"For how they treated you"

"Nah, don't be. It was a long time ago..."

"Yea, but it's still a sad story..."

"Well that's what you get when the conversation gets deep and Riddick centered; sad and depressing. I'm pretty boring"

"No you're not. I think you're very interesting"

"Well I think I'm boring"

"Aw, are you bored now?" Jack asked in a mock-sad voice.

"Yep"

"Hmmm...how do you think I could perk your interest?" Jack asked suggestively, shifting to press her body against his.

"Mmm...I think you're on the right track, darlin'," he growled with a smirk, rolling to pin her beneath him.

Riddick buried his face in her hair and Jack laughed softly when his stubble brushed against her neck, tickling her. He pulled back and sighed, causing Jack so shiver as he breath washed over her neck.

"God...I love you," he whispered huskily in her ear.

He ran his hands over her and he knew he'd never get enough of her.

"Mmm..." Jack moaned when she felt Riddick position himself at her opening and she squirmed, trying to draw him in closer.

Riddick obliged and slowly pressed himself in, groaning as he did so.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted this...us..." Riddick said after a moment. Part of him still wondered if it was too good to be true.

"Yea, I know the feeling," Jack informed him with a smile.

Riddick wondered for a moment and then realized all his worrying and agonizing had been for nothing. She'd wanted him all the time too, he just hadn't been smart enough to see it.

"Well, you're mine now," he chuckled; moving out of her and back in a long, slow movement.

"Hmmm...mmm..." Jack opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by a moan, coming as a result of Riddick's moving inside her. "Hmm...that better mean you're mind too then" she said quietly, with a smirk.

"Baby, I've always been yours," Riddick told her, smiling softly before stroking into her again.

Jack smiled and pulled him closer, relishing in the feel of him. It was a while before they got around to getting to sleep.

* * *

**Well, there it was. I hope you liked it. Let me know, PLEASE. I had a hard time writing it cuz i didn't know how i was doing with the intimate stuff. I didn't want to throw them right into bed and i wanted to show that Riddick didn't want to push Jack into it and stuff...so yea, PLEASE PLEASE tell me how it was. I'd appreciate it SOOOO much.**

**SO, that's that.R and R. The next chap shouldn't be too far away...i hope. **


	16. A Real Mission

**HOLY WOW! it'd been 4ever since i updated and i'm REALLY REALLY sorry. I've been so busy and it sux, but i shouldn't be soo busy now. I know i said that b4, but i was wrong...obviously. But now i really shouldn't be...i hope...anway, thanks for the reviews. Enjoy. i know it's not that long but i just wanted to get something up 4 u guys**

* * *

A REAL MISSION

Jack padded into the kitchen barefooted, suppressing a yawn. They had a pretty long day ahead of them, seeing as it was finally the day they'd be leaving the space station. They'd taken longer than planned...due to reason 'distractions' from the repairs, but they were ready to be on their way.

"Morning," Riddick said over his shoulder before she was even two steps into the room.

"Morning, how long have you been up?"

"Couple hours"

Jack nodded. It figured he'd be up and about before her.

"So, we're finally leaving...where are we going, anyway?" Jack asked, looking up from her coffee, just then realizing she had no idea where they were headed.

"We're gonna make a stop in the Heclon system...and them I'm not sure exactly..."

"You don't know where we're going? You always know where we're going..." Jack quirked an eyebrow at him suspiciously. He always had some kind of plan.

"Well...I had this idea but I wanted to run it by you first..." Riddick explained, taking a seat next to Jack at the table.

"And?"

"And I was thinking we could just make do here on the ship for a while. We would make cargo shipments and stuff like that, ya know? I could still take a few 'jobs' now and then if they're convenient, but we'd mostly be into shipping. What do you think?"

"I think that sounds great"

"Really?"

"Yea. I've wanted to travel since I was little, so this way I get to see more of the universe"

Riddick smiled and helped himself to some of Jack's coffee. "Too right you will. So it's find with you, at least for now? It doesn't have to be a permanent thing."

"No, it's fine"

"Great, we leave this afternoon. I'm gonna need you to pick up some stuff in town while I get everything ready here, ok?"

Jack nodded and got up to get more coffee. The small mugs they had weren't really meant for their contents to be shared.

She felt more than heard Riddick move right behind her and slip his arms around her small waist. His warm breath gave a moment's warning before his mouth descended onto the crook of her neck. One of his large hands slowly traveled up her arm and pushed away the strap of her tank top as his mouth moved along her collar bone.

Jack smiled and happily let him continue as she set down her cup.

"Mmm...I could do this all day..." he growled quietly next to her ear.

"Yea, but we can't..." Jack said with reluctance. As much as she wouldn't mind spending the day in their bedroom, they had to get ready. She was getting pretty sick of the station and wasn't sorry about leaving.

"Yea I know..." Riddick agreed, but didn't move.

Jack sighed and turned around in his arms.

"So what do I have to pick up?"

"Some parts for the food-prep. I've heard they malfunction sometimes when their getting broken in and I don't want that think breaking while we're in space. Then I'd have to eat more of your cooking again"

"Hey!" Jack punched him in the arm playfully, rousing a chuckled from Riddick.

"I got the parts written down for ya, and a cred chip"

Jack took the paper and small piece of plastic he handed her. "You're gonna trust me with your money?" she joked, smiling wickedly.

"I know how much is on there so don't get any ideas," he joked back.

"Yea, yea"

Jack trudged off to their room and changed into a pair of loose jeans and a white tank top.

"I'm gonna go get this stuff...be back in a little bit"

Without warning Jack was spun around and pulled up against a hard chest. Thick arms secured her in place and warm lips captured her own. Jack grinned against Riddick's mouth and wrapped her arms around his neck, reveling in the taste of him. It was something she'd never get tired of.

"Hurry back?" Riddick asked quietly, pulling away to rest his forehead on hers.

"If you insist," Jack nodded and smiled before giving him one last quick kiss before leaving through the cargo hold.

She smiled as she could still feel his lips on hers. Her smile widened as she thought of all the other places his lips and been in the last couple days. If it was possible, her smile grew even more when she thought of how it would happen again...and again...

Jack wiped the smile from her face as she got near more people so they wouldn't look at her strangely. As she headed for the right stores, she thought about the last couple days. They'd been great. As much as she'd always wanted it, she'd always thought a relationship with Riddick would somehow change everything and make things somewhat awkward. It hadn't, though. It felt good... and, more than that, it felt right. Being with him was perfect.

Jack had all the little parts Riddick wanted in about an hour and she decided to look around once more. She didn't intend to buy anything, but looking ever hurt. Besides, Riddick would be busy with final preparations anyway.

She wandered into a small shop that sold lots of music, and started flipping through some of the groups and singers. She turned to look at a different shelf and pretty much ran right into another person.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said quickly, after steadying herself.

"Nah, it's fine"

Jack smiled and looked up at the man. He was tall and well built, with short blonde hair.

He looked at her for a moment like he was trying to remember something. "You new around here?"

"Yea, just passing through"

"Oh, I figured. I'm a mechanic here, so I know the few people that actually live around here. You're not traveling all alone are you?" he asked, sounding genuinely interested.

"No, I'm traveling with my brother," Jack answered. She almost laughed out loud at calling Riddick her brother now, but it came out automatically. Besides, their registration on the ship said they were brother and sister. She assumed he'd be changing that soon.

"Good. It's not good to travel alone, especially if you're a pretty girl"

Jack blushed and nodded. She knew all about that.

"So, staying here long?"

"No. We've been here a few days and we're leaving this afternoon"

"Oh, and where are you two off to?"

"Heclon system and, then, who knows"

"Ah, the Heclon system. I've been through there before. It's a nice place, I'm sure you'll like it"

"Yea, I hope so"

"Alright, well, have a safe trip. I have to get back to work now cuz my break's gonna be over soon.

Jack nodded and waved over her shoulder, turning back to the shelf she'd been looking at. She looked around for a while and was walking back onto the ship again about an hour after talking to the man in the store.

"I got the shit," Jack called, setting the back down in the kitchen. She poured herself some milk and Riddick was in and inspecting the bags after a few minutes.

"Good job," he said after a few minutes, seeming satisfied.

"Well I'm pretty proud of myself. It was a hard task, ya know," Jack said sarcastically.

Riddick smirked took the bag to put it away.

"How'd it go? You took a while...you didn't have any problems did you?"

"Nope. Looked around a little. The closest thing I had to a problem was running into some guy, but he turned out to be really nice so it wasn't an issue"

"You ran into him? Why were you running?"

"Well, I didn't literally run into him...I turned and bumped into him. He's a mechanic here...he was nice enough"

"Oh, so you exchanged life stories?" Riddick asked, raising an amused eyebrow.

"No! We just...ugh, shut up!" Jack swatted at him playfully when she saw the amused look on his face.

"Whatever. You ready do get out of here, darlin?"

"Goin already? I thought I was gonna get something special when I got back here," Jack commented, pouting playfully.

"Once we get out of here I'll give you something special and then some. Unless you're not ready"

"No, I'm more than ready. Let's go"

Riddick chuckled and led the way to the cockpit. Once they were strapped in and cleared for take off, they were gone.

Shane Anderson hurried back to his apartment after leaving the music store. He'd surprised himself with how casually and 'accidentally' he'd been able to run into the girl, Jack. She hadn't been suspicions in any way and had talked to him nicely. He had to wonder why a nice, polite young woman was traveling with one of the most dangerous men in the galaxy, but it wasn't his job to know. His job was to gather Intel, which is what he'd done. He now had the information of where they were going; the Heclon system.

He hadn't been lying when he said Heclon was a nice system to travel though; it was. Nice people and all the planets had thriving industries and lots of things to do if you were stopping through.

He got to his small apartment and followed standard procedure. He had to make sure the line wasn't tapped in any way and then dial the number to get him in touch with his headquarters.

"This is Agent Shane Anderson...yes, and I have some new information...yes, I'll wait"

Shane drummed his fingers expectantly while he waited for the Captain to get on the phone. He'd quickly lost the fright from knowing a knife had been held to his neck by Richard B. Riddick himself, and was now excited that he got to be the one with the Intel on the man. This would mean a promotion for sure.

"Yes Captain, this is Agent Anderson...yes, I do sir...yes, their on the move again, sir...to the Heclon system, sir...I don't know which planet, but that's where they're headed...me, sir?...yes, yes I understand...I'll leave as soon as the ship is prepped...Daniels and Smith?...alright, sir, I'll look for them when I get there...what?...yes, sir, it's the same ship...all right, I'll be waiting for your message...it's clear, sir...good-bye."

Shane hung up and smiled. He was finally getting out of the spaceport. He was to leave as soon as possible and head towards the Heclon system. His headquarters would be in touch with him when they found out which planet Riddick was headed to, and then he'd meet two other agents there. He himself would be part of the group after Riddick. No more sitting around and waiting, no more mundane work day after day. He was on a real mission.

A real mission... The thought made him smile as he started packing up his things. He just hoped his first mission wouldn't be his last.

* * *

**well there it is. Hope it's not bad and i hope there weren't too many errors and crap...i should be updating soon...R and R to tell me what you think! just use that little button! Please!**


	17. Thira

**whoa dang...i hadn't realized it had been that long since i updated until just now! I'm really sorry! i guess lately i've been getting into Fast and the Furioius fics more...but don't worry, i'm still gonna be writting this. Anywho, here's the next chap and i have the next few planned out already. **

**Anywho, R and R...**

* * *

"So, when are we gonna be there?" Jack asked while she poured herself something to drink.

"Sometime in the morning...probably kind of early"

"Alright...wanna watch a movie?"

"Sure, I'll be right there"

Jack nodded and went to the living room to look for a movie, but she wasn't able to decide on one.

"What do you want to watch?" she asked, hearing Riddick come into the room behind her.

"Hmm...I got better ideas..." he told her with a playful smirk.

"Oh do you?"

"Yea..."

Riddick turned her around and stepped so that her back was to the wall. He pressed himself close to her and claimed her lips hungrily.

Jack responded immediately and wrapped her arms around him. She could feel his erection pressing into her lower stomach and grinned against his lips. He kissed along her jaw line and collarbone as he stepped away from the wall and picked her up to carry her down the hall to their room. He laid her down beneath him and held himself above her, craving her even more as he ran his eyes over her.

He made quick work of taking off her shirt and soon found himself shirtless as well. His hands deftly unbuttoned her pants and pulled them down. Jack got his pants undone just as quickly and he kicked them to the floor before positioning himself between her legs and entering her slowly.

He stroked himself in and out of her a few times and loved the feeling of being inside her. He enjoyed the feeling and knew he always would, but was suddenly scared that he was enjoying it too much. He stilled himself and rested his forehead on Jack's shoulder, taking deep breaths.

Jack was surprised when Riddick stopped and gave no explanation. Was something wrong? No...he'd say something if there was a problem. Before she could ponder his actions too long, his muscles started trembling slightly and she understood.

Ever since their relationship had 'taken a little turn,' she'd gotten the feeling that he was holding back. She knew he wasn't letting himself get carried away in fear of hurting her, and she knew that he very well could hurt her if he wasn't careful. But she also knew he wouldn't. He knew his body better than anyone and knew exactly what he was capable of. She knew she'd be ok, but he just didn't want to scare her or anything. She'd known that from the very start.

"Riddick..."

"Hmm?"

"I'm not going to break, ya know...I promise"

Riddick let her words sink in and pushed himself back up to look at her.

"Jack...baby, I don't want to hurt you..."

"You won't"

"...I could"

"But you won't"

Riddick looked down at her and sighed. She was right. He wouldn't...ever. He was physically capable of hurting her but he never would. Never. He'd always been afraid she'd get scared if he went anything but slow. Now, though, he saw his fear had been pointless. Her faith in him was absolute and she didn't fear him at all and probably never would.

Riddick nodded, more to himself than to Jack, and wrapped his arms around her more securely before pulling out of her and thrusting himself back in faster and a little harder than before. He kept his eyes trained on her face to watch her reactions.

She gasped as he thrust into her but her eyes gave no hint of fear or pain. A grin tugged at the corners of her mouth as she bit her bottom lip and pressed up against him to encourage him to continue.

He continued thrusting in and out of her and she moaned and cried out as he did. She began to writhe beneath him and he soon felt her muscles tighten as she neared the edge. He came just after she did and he turned, pulling her with him, so that she laid on top of him while they regained their breath.

After laying there for a few silent minutes while Riddick absently played with her hair, Jack pushed herself up. Her hair fell over her shoulder and just missed brushing across Riddick's chest. It had grown since they'd left Catileen. It probably had split ends or something now, she mused pointlessly.

"This mean you wanna take top?" Riddick asked in a quite growl, since once was never really enough for him.

Jack smirked and leaned down to kiss him.

"Gonna let me?"

Riddick smirked back and grasped her hips, gently moving her down to position her above him.

"Do your worst," he grinned, relinquishing control to her.

Jack chuckled and proceeded to do her best.

"Hmm...we never did watch that movie..." Jack observed sometime later while she laid curled up at Riddick's side.

"Disappointed?"

"No"

"Good. We still have time to watch something if you want to"

"Ugh, I don't feel like moving"

"We don't have to"

Before she could ask, Riddick rolled over and grabbed something from beside the bed quickly. He grinned broadly and pushed something on whatever he had in his hand. Instantly a picture appeared on the screen and, upon looking at it for a moment, Jack realized it was the news.

"What the...where's it coming from?"

"It's some new shit. You get this tiny chips to put on the wall and once you get them up there right, they make a clear picture. I'm surprised you haven't read about it or something on-line"

"Huh…how many chips?"

"I dunno...like ten or something. I'm not really sure how it works,

"When did you do it?"

"Well...you know howI kept encouraging you to go look around back at the station?...yea, well, I was installing it as a surprise...so, you surprise?"

"Yea...It's a really good picture...do movies work on it too?"

"Course"

Jack smiled. "Gonna go get a movie then?"

"Me? You're the one who wanted to watch one in the first place"

"Yes you...please?"

She pulled her 'puppy-dog face' and Riddick sighed deeply before getting up. He never could argue with her when she pulled that out on him. Maybe he was going soft after all.

He was back in a few minutes with a bunch of movies in his hands.

"Dang, got enough there?"

"I decided to give you some choices, and I'm gonna figure out how to program movies into this so we don't have to put the actually disc in every time"

"Sweet"

He nodded and set the movies down.

"Ok, which one?"

"_Casablanca_?"

"Try again. We watch that all the time"

"You like it and you know it"

"Yea, I do...but try again anyway"

"You just pick"

"Aiight..._Bonnie and Clyde_; that good enough?"

"Oh, I suppose," she answered with an air of sarcasm.

Riddick slid the disc into the small device on the bedside table and got back under the covers, where Jack curled back up next to him.

Riddick wrapped his arm around her and rubbed her back slowly while the picture came to life on the wall. Before the movie was even half over Jack was asleep at his side.

* * *

"Jack, babe, wake up"

"Mmm...what?" Jack mumbled, tightening her arm around the body that was moving beside her.

"We gotta get up so we can land"

"Ugh," she reluctantly sat up and stood to stretch.

Riddick hurried out of the room and she grabbed her sweatshirt and trudged down the hall after him. She took her place in the co-pilot seat and strapped in, watching the planet, Thira of the Heclon system, in front of them grow bigger as they neared it. Riddick got them clearance and they landed smoothly 20 minutes later.

"I'm gonna take a shower," Jack announced as she unstrapped and got out of her seat.

"Ok, I'll get something around for breakfast"

Jack nodded and went straight to the bathroom for a quick shower to wake her up.

When she stepped into the kitchen 15 minutes later in basketball shorts and a tank top, the smell of bacon met her nose.

"Mmm...bacon. Hope you made a lot"

"No, I plan on eating it all myself," Riddick said over his shoulder.

"Not gonna share?"

"Well...maybe"

He shrugged uninterestedly and went to the table with a plate full of bacon and eggs to sit down.

Jack frowned and walked over to him.

"Can you say selfish?"

"If I wanted to, yea"

Jack raised an unamused eyebrow and Riddick rolled his eyes, pulling her down into his lap.

"If you're gonna pout about it then just help yourself"

She smiled in triumph and picked up a piece.

"Wanna do me a favor?" Riddick asked after a moment.

"Sure, why not?"

"That a girl. I have to go get some cargo, so how about you go find the check in place here and get us registered"

"I think I can handle that...how long are we gonna stay?"

"Few days...make something up. They aren't that strict about it; they just want a guess"

"Ok, I'm all over it"

"Good"

Riddick left the food forgotten on the table and turned his attention to Jack's neck and collar bone, kissing and gently sucking at it. She gasped softly and bent her head to give him better access.

Riddick grasped her hips in response and slipped his fingers under her shirt to run his hands over her soft stomach.

He pulled away with a groan and rested his forehead on the back of her neck.

"What time is it?"

"Um...10:30," Jack answered after craning her neck to see the clock.

"Damn...we should really get going. I'm notexactly sure where the pick up is at and the workers will start getting anal if you don't hurry up and check us in and all that"

"Ok"

Jack grabbed one last piece of bacon and hopped up to find her shoes before heading down to the cargo hold where Riddick was already lowering the ramp for them.

"Alright, be careful and I'll see you in a little while"

"Ok, later"

Jack walked away while Riddick locked up the ship and headed in the opposite direction.

Registering them wasn't a big deal for her. She'd done it before and it was basically the same everywhere you went: How long are you staying? What's your purpose? Who're you traveling with and what's your relation?...blah, blah, blah. She wasn't worried.

With her mind at ease she made her way to one of the check-in booths. Unbeknown to her, she was going to be seeing a familiar face soon...

* * *

**oooo, cliffhanger...sort of...meh, w/e. So i hope you liked it...hopefully it didn't suck...i'm still not too sure of myself in the storie's intimate scense and stuff...but hopefully it's not horrible. Let me know, please. **

**well, i gotta run cuz i have lots of crap to do...sorry again for how long it took to post**


	18. FYI

**Hey hey! look, i just wanted to say that i'm REALLY sorry it's taking so long to update. We had exams and all that shit last week so i was busy studying and sleeping...but now it's summer! yay.**

**But my brother, who i love to death, it leaving soon. He's going to school out of state and i won't see him for a long time, so i'm spending all my free time with him now...cuz i'm gonna miss him and be really sad once he's gone...so it might be another couple days until i finish the chapter i have almost done...SORRY!**

**But don't worry, i'm still going on with the story...it's just gonna be a few days longer and i feel bad...i know where i'm goin with the story but getting there is taking a while. SORRY!**

**:peace out and God Bless:**


	19. Familar Face

**HELLO PEOPLE! Many apologies for the delay...it really shouldn't be happening again anytime soon, cuz it's SUMMER! Heck yes! can u tell i'm happy? anyway, i won't delay it anylonger, hope you enjoy and PLEASE R AND R...i know it's short but i just typed it up...next chap soon**

* * *

Jack got their ship checked in without a problem and wandered around a little, wanting to see some of the area while she was out.

"Hey"

She jumped and turned when someone walked up behind her but smiled when it was only Riddick. He smirked with amusement since he'd scared her and wrapped an arm around her.

"What're you doing?"

"Just looking around a little..."

"Anything interesting?"

"Dunno...it's a nice place"

"Yea...we'll stay for a few days...the company is bringing the cargo to the ship later this evening."

"Ok"

They walked down the street quietly and were almost back to the ship when Jack stopped and stared at someone.

"What?" Riddick asked when she stopped abruptly.

"I think I've seen that guy before..."

"Well it's not nice to stare...who is it?" Riddick asked, unsure of who she was looking at.

"That blonde guy...I saw him back on the station...he said he was maintenance or something there, so why would he be here?" Jack asked, sort of talking to herself.

Riddick looked in the same direction as she was and saw the blonde man she was talking about it. He recognized the face and it only took a moment for him to realize it was the guy who'd been watching Jack on the station before. The fact that he'd seen the man watching her, she'd just happened to bump into him, and he was here now...that was too many coincidences for him. Something was up.

"Jack...go back to the desks and tell them we're leaving"

"Why?"

"Jack, just do it. Oh, and make sure you get in the line next to Blondie...don't talk to him though or look at him."

"Riddick, what're you..."

"Just do it," he repeated firmly, giving her a little push in the direction.

Jack frowned but did as she was told, going up to the desk right next to the man she recognized. She noticed him straighten up a little but didn't look at him.

"How may I help you?" the plump woman behind the counter asked.

"I just checked in about an hour or so ago...but we need to leave now"

"Why's that?" the woman asked, looking at Jack's 'ID' and typing in her computer.

"Well the company that was giving us cargo actually wants us to pick it up on Thova, not here, so we want to get going"

"Alright, you'll be cleared for take-off soon, have a safe trip"

"Thank you very much"

The woman smiled and gave her ID back and Jack turned and went back to the ship, hoping Riddick would be there to answer he questions. He wasn't. She went to the kitchen and took a seat at the table, hoping he'd come back soon from where ever he went.

* * *

Riddick watched Jack talk to the woman at the desk and bet anything the man next to her was listening to everything she said. Once Jack left, the man gave his ID to person AGAIN and it looked like he was changing his plans of staying.

Riddick followed the man away from the registration area and down rows of ships until the man stopped at one near an and of a row. That was his chance.

He silently moved in behind the man and grabbed him, clamping a hand over his mouth and pulling him into the shadows of a corner.

"Yell for help and I swear I'll kill you," Riddick growled, removing his hand. After all, he needed answers.

The man nodded and was visibly shaken.

"Alright, who the hell are you"

"S-Shane," he answered, purposefully leaving out his last name or anything close to the fact that he was a military agent. He knew perfectly well who he was talking to.

"Why are you following me," Riddick demanded, pulling out his shiv for the fear he knew it would cause.

"I'm not"

"Bull shit; you were on the space station watching and talking to Jack, even after I told you not to...now you're here...and I bet anything that you changed your flight plans when you heard Jack change hers...am I wrong?"

Shane said nothing. He knew a lot about the large man in front of him and knew he was too smart to believe blatant lies.

"So, I'm gonna ask you again...why are you following me?"

"I just do what I'm told, man—"

"Who told you? Who sent you after me?" Riddick demanded more forcefully.

"It...it was anonymous," Shane said, thinking quickly while he eyed Riddick's shiv cautiously.

"From where?"

"The...the Hellion System," Shane said, picking a space system at random.

Riddick nodded and wordlessly slammed Shane's head against the wall, knocking him out cold. He'd be out for a good few hours and Riddick would be gone long before then. He a trip to Hellion to take...after he went back to the cargo place and canceled his order. He'd have to get a shipment later. Right now he had other plans.

* * *

Jack shot out of her seat when she heard Riddick come back and met him at the top of the stairs.

"Where'd you go?"

"To get answers"

"From that guy?"

"Yea"

"And who was he?"

"A merc, I'm guessing...an 'anonymous' person sent him after me..." Riddick explained quietly, brushing past Jack and heading to the front. "Come on, get strapped in; we're leaving"

"Now?"

"Well I'm not waiting for our little friend to wake up...maybe I should've killed him..." he shrugged and began flipping switches to get ready for take-off.

"Well where are we going?" Jack asked, sitting down and strapping in, eyeing Riddick expectantly.

He said nothing.

"Riddick!"

"What!" he snapped, looking up with a frustrated look.

Jack flinched a little but didn't back down.

"Where are we going?"

"Hellion Prime"

Jack let that sink in and frowned. _Why?_

"Why are we going there?" she asked quietly.

Riddick ignored her and started the ship up.

"Riddick, why are we going there?"

He looked at her but said nothing, instead clearing them for take off and getting them up into space.

"Are you going to answer me?" Jack asked, thoroughly agitated with him for ignoring her.

"What was the question?" He asked, unstrapping and stretching.

"Why are we going there," she repeated, sounding exasperated.

"We're going to pay Imam a little visit..." he answered, glancing over at her before setting a course to New Mecca, for the second time in his life, while Jack's eyes widened...

* * *

**How was it? kinda short, i know. Fun stuff coming up soon though...**

**R and R, PLEASE! I really really really appreciate reviews**


	20. FYI 2

**hey. This is just to let u guys know that i'm not going to continue this story for a while...if ever. I pretty much know where i want it to go but whenever i sit down to write it up, it sounds boring and retarded. Meh, idk...maybe it's just a _serious_ case of writter's block...but w/e...so yea...IF i do continue it, it'll be a while before i do. Sorry... i'll probably put up a different story in here sometime...but yea...**

**later**


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